NRC TO DISCUSS 2007 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
FOR PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Nuclear Management Co. on Monday, April 7, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for last year at the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant.  The plant is located in Welch, Minn.            

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. CDT at Prairie Island Training Center, Classroom 1, 1660 Wakonade Dr. West, Welch.  The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment, talk about the NRC and its range of activities, and be available to respond to questions or comments from the public before the close of the meeting.

The public may also listen to the discussion between the NRC and plant officials on a special telephone conference line and then participate in the subsequent discussion or raise questions of the NRC before the close of the meeting.  To obtain the conference call phone number, interested persons should contact Richard Skokowski at 630/829-9620.

“The NRC continually reviews the performance of Prairie Island and the nation’s other commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said.  “This meeting allows us to discuss our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and with local officials and area residents.  Our goal is to explain how the NRC works and make as much information as possible available on our regulation of these facilities.”

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/prai_2007q4.pdf.

The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Prairie Island plant operated safely during the period.  The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance.  The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.        

All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Prairie Island during 2007 were determined to be “green.”  As a result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal, baseline level of inspections during the upcoming year.

Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md.  Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency preparedness, radiation protection and reactor systems activities.

Current performance information for [name] is available on the NRC’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI1/prai1_chart.html  (Unit 1) and http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI2/prai2_chart.html (Unit 2).

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008