Press Release-III-10-013, NRC to Discuss 2009 Performance Assessment for Fermi Nuclear Power Plant May 5

Press Release-III-10-013: NRC to Discuss 2009 Performance Assessment for Fermi Nuclear Power Plant May 5

ML101190036
Person / Time
Site:	Duane Arnold
Issue date:	04/29/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
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Category:Press Release
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Press Release-III-10-013
Download: ML101190036 (2)

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No. III 013 Contacts:

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 April 29, 2010 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov Web site: www.nrc.gov NRC TO DISCUSS 2009 PERFOR MANCE ASSESSMENT FOR FERMI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT MAY 5 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Detroit Edison Company on Wednesday, May 5, to discuss the agency's assessment of safety performance last year at the Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2. The plant is located in Newport, Mich., 25 miles northeast of Toledo.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. EDT at the Monroe County Board of Commissioners' Chambers, County Courthouse, 125 E. Second St., in Monroe. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment, talk about the NRC and its range of activities, and be ava ilable to respond to questions or comments from the public before the close of the meeting.

"The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Fermi plant and the nation's other commercial nuclear power facilities," NRC Region III Administrator Mark Satorius said. "This meeting allows us to discuss our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and area residents. One of NRC's main goals is to explain to people in the community how the agency regulates nuclear power plants."

A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC Web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/ferm_2009q4.pdf. The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to measure plant performance. The colors go from "green" to "white," "yellow" or "red," commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.

The NRC's assessment concluded that Fermi Unit 2 operated safely in 2009. All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Fermi Unit 2 during 2009 were determined to be "green."

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region III 2443 Warrenville Road Lisle IL 60532

As a result of this performance, the NRC will continue to conduct the very detailed routine inspections for plants that are performing well. Inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant, and inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are radiation protection, emergency re sponse and preoperational testing of the independent spent fuel storage pad.

Current performance information for Fermi is available on the NRC's Web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/FERM2/ferm2_chart.html.

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http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.