NRC TO DISCUSS 2005 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
FOR BYRON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
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The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Byron Station Training Center, Room 107, 4448 N. German Church Road, Byron. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment 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 Byron plant and the nation’s other commercial nuclear power facilities," NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. "This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our goal is to explain the NRC oversight process and make as much information as possible available to the public regarding 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/byro_2005q4.pdf .

The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Byron 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 Byron during 2005 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.

During the year NRC inspectors identified several instances, all of very low safety significance, in which personnel performance was not adequate. These human performance issues are considered "cross cutting" in that they potentially affect multiple aspects of plant performance. The NRC intends to focus on these human performance issues during an inspection 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, radioactive waste processing and transportation, security, and radiation protection.

Current performance information for Byron is available on the NRC’s web site at: (Unit 1) http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BYRO1/byro1_chart.html and (Unit 2) http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BYRO2/byro2_chart.html.

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Thursday, February 22, 2007