NRC TO DISCUSS THREE MILE ISLAND 1 NUCLEAR PLANT ASSESSMENT
AT PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 3 IN MIDDLETOWN, PA.
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The results of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual safety performance assessment for the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear power plant will be discussed at a public meeting on Thursday, April 3. The session is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Londonderry Town Hall, 738 S. Geyers Church Road in Middletown, Pa.

Three Mile Island 1 is a pressurized-water reactor located in Middletown (Dauphin County) and operated by AmerGen Energy Co., LLC.

Prior to the conclusion of the meeting, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the plant’s performance, as well as the agency’s oversight of the facility.

“Through a combination of inspection findings and performance indicators, we are able to develop a comprehensive picture of how nuclear power plants are performing with regard to safety,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins. “As part of our commitment to make the findings of our reviews accessible to the public, we hold meetings near each plant once a year to share the details of those assessments. We look forward to the opportunity on April 3rd to present that information for the Three Mile Island 1 nuclear power plant.”

The annual assessment letter for Three Mile Island 1 is available on the NRC web site at:  http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/tmi_2007q4.pdf. The notice for the meeting, with agenda attached, is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML080790705. The slides for the meeting can be found under accession number ML080790674. ADAMS is accessible at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. Help in using ADAMS is available via the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR@NRC.GOV.

Overall, the Three Mile Island 1 plant operated safely during 2007. When considering nuclear power plant performance, the NRC uses color-coded performance indicators and inspection findings. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.

At the conclusion of last year, there were no performance indicators for Three Mile Island 1 that were other than “green” and no inspection findings that were “greater than green.”  Therefore, the plant will receive the baseline, or routine, level of inspections for the remainder of 2008.

Routine inspections are carried out by the two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the agency’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas of performance at Three Mile Island 1 to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are activities associated with radiological protection, fire protection, and problem identification and resolution.

Separately, NRC reviews associated with a license renewal application for the plant will continue throughout 2008. The application, which seeks a 20-year extension of the facility’s operating license, was submitted in January of this year.

Current performance information for Three Mile Island 1 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/TMI1/tmi1_chart.html.

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008