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NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532

NRC Staff to Discuss D.C. Cook Inspection Findings

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff members will discuss the findings from a safety inspection of the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Station during a meeting with American Electric Power Company officials on Monday, May 22.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at 2 p.m. EDT in the plant's Training Building. The plant is located at 7700 Red Arrow Highway between Bridgman and Stevensville, Michigan.

During the May 22 briefing, NRC members will discuss the findings of a two-week Restart Readiness Assessment Team Inspection, which is an in-depth evaluation of the readiness of the plant operations' staff to support Unit 2 restart. The inspection, which began on May 8, involves 72 hours of continuous observation in the plant's control room as well as other aspects of plant operation.

The inspection is one of several factors the NRC will consider in determining whether Unit 2 is ready to resume operations. The NRC expects to schedule additional public meetings prior to Unit 2 restart. The second reactor on site, Unit 1, will receive similar scrutiny before it resumes operation.

Both D.C. Cook units have been shut down since September 1997 after an NRC design inspection questioned the capabilities of key plant emergency systems to meet their design requirements.

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