Press Release-IV-04-013, NRC to Meet with Union Electric Co. to Discuss Performance of Callaway Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-IV-04-013: NRC to Meet with Union Electric Co. to Discuss Performance of Callaway Nuclear Power Plant

ML040840207
Person / Time
Site:	Callaway
Issue date:	03/24/2004
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region IV
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-IV-04-013
Download: ML040840207 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive - Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4005 No. IV-04-013 March 24, 2004

Contact:

Victor Dricks E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov Phone: 817-860-8128 NRC TO MEET WITH UNION ELECTRIC CO. TO DISCUSS PERFORMANCE OF CALLAWAY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of the Union Electric Co. on Wednesday, April 7, to discuss the results of the agencys annual assessment of safety performance at the Callaway nuclear plant. The facility is located near Fulton, Missouri.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center, 415 West McCarty Street, in Jefferson City. The public is invited to observe the meeting and NRC officials will be available before the conclusion of the meeting to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of the plant.

The performance period to be discussed is January 1 to December 31, 2003. In addition, the NRC staff will provide an overview of how the agencys Reactor Oversight Process works.

A letter from the NRC to Union Electric Co. officials addresses the performance of the plant during this period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/call_2003q4.pdf.

Overall, the plant operated safely last year, but had a white inspection finding, or a finding of low to moderate safety significance, in the first quarter of 2003. Plant staff failed to provide tone alert radios to some local residents that were not within emergency siren coverage areas. A supplemental inspection by the NRC determined that corrective actions taken by Union Electric to resolve the issue and prevent a recurrence were satisfactory.

The plant also has made progress addressing weaknesses in its problem identification and resolution program. The NRC plans to monitor the licensees continuing efforts in this area through its baseline inspection program which includes a team inspection specifically in this area.

With regard to security issues, the letter points out that the NRC has issued several orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The agency has also conducted inspections to review the implementation of these requirements and has monitored the action of plant operators in response to changing threat conditions. The NRC will continue security inspections in 2004.

Current performance indicators for the Callaway nuclear plant are available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALL/call_chart.html.