NRC TO DISCUSS 2007 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
FOR D.C. COOK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Indiana Michigan Power Company Wednesday, April 16, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for last year at the Cook Nuclear Power Plant.  The two-unit plant is located in Bridgman, Mich.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. EDT at Lake Charter Township Hall, 3220 Shawnee Rd. Bridgman.  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 NRC continually reviews the performance of the Cook plant 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 sure as much information as possible is 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/cook_2007q4.pdf .

The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Cook 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 all but one performance indicators for Cook during 2007 were determined to be “green.” One performance indicator was “yellow,” meaning it had a medium significance to safety, during the second and third quarters. The performance indicator was associated with testing the station’s alert and notification system sirens. In February of this year, the NRC completed a follow-up inspection which focused on assessing the utility’s understanding of the issue and the corrective actions to address it. The inspection did not identify any major findings. As a result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal, baseline level of inspections for the rest of this 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 system operations.

            Current performance information for Cook is available on the NRC’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/COOK1/cook1_chart.html  Unit 1 and http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/COOK2/cook2_chart.html Unit 2.

NRC news releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site.

Privacy Policy | Site Disclaimer
Tuesday, April 15, 2008