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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
	Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
	Washington, DC 20555-001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

No. 98-150

August 21, 1998

NRC TO HOLD WORKSHOP ON IMPROVING ASSESSMENT
OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PERFORMANCE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a four-day workshop Sept. 28-Oct. 1 in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to discuss ways for improving the agency's process for assessing the performance of licensed nuclear power plants.

Sessions will be held at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel, 5151 Pooks Hill Road, Bethesda, MD 20814. They will begin at 8 a.m. daily, ending at 5 p.m. the first three days, and at 2 p.m. on the final day.

The workshop, which will be open to the public, is structured so that high level policy issues will be covered during the first two days, with more detailed process development discussions scheduled on the last two. The agenda is so designed to encourage participation during the first two days by senior executives who might be unable to attend the entire program.

NRC has scheduled this workshop as part of a larger effort to develop more efficient ways for assessing the performance of nuclear power plant licensees. The agency recently asked for public comments on areas for improving the assessment process. These topics were grouped into four major issues involved in the program--regulatory oversight approach, the attributes of an integrated assessment process, the use of risk-informed assessment guidance, and the use of performance indicators.

NRC staff will use information gathered from the forthcoming workshop and from the public comment process to develop a final proposal to be presented to the Commission by early January.

Those interested in attending the workshop are asked to pre-register at least three weeks in advance. In addition to their names, addresses and affiliation, those pre-registering are asked to specify breakout sessions of interest.

Participants who wish to pre-register by electronic mail may do so by contacting Timothy Frye at TJF@NRC.GOV, or David Gamberoni at DLG2@NRC.GOV. Pre-registration information also may be sent by fax to 301/415-3707, or by regular mail to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Timothy J. Frye, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Mail Stop O-5H4, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

A block of rooms will be available at the Bethesda Marriott until Sept. 9. They should be reserved by contacting the hotel at 301/897-9400. The block room rate is $126 per night, including tax. Reservations will be accepted on a space-available basis after Sept. 9.

The tentative workshop agenda is posted on the NRC Internet web page at: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/changes.htm.