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NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street, Suite 23T85, Atlanta, GA 30303

NRC STAFF TO HOLD REGULATORY CONFERENCE DECEMBER 7
TO DISCUSS SUMMER NUCLEAR PLANT CONCERNS WITH SCE&G

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a Regulatory Conference with South Carolina Electric & Gas Company at 1:00 p.m. (est) on December 7 in Atlanta to discuss the company's position on the significance of having the Summer nuclear power plant's steam-driven emergency feedwater pump inoperable during power operation for approximately 48 days this year, from August 4 until September 21. The NRC staff, through its significance determination process, has made a preliminary determination that the finding is Yellow -an issue with substantial importance to safety.

Under the significance determination process, NRC officials classify certain conditions at nuclear power plants as being in one of four colors which delineate increasing levels of severity, beginning with green and progressing in severity to white, yellow or red. The Summer plant has two electric motor-driven emergency feedwater pumps, and one which is steam-driven, for use in the event of an interruption in the normal feedwater flow to the unit's three steam generators. Although no abnormal conditions occurred, during certain postulated conditions involving a loss of feedwater and both of the electric motor-driven pumps, use of the steam driven pump would be important in removing heat from the reactor's uranium fuel.

The meeting will be held in the NRC's Region II offices on the 24^th floor of the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, located at 61 Forsyth Street, S. W. It is between the NRC staff and SCE&G management but is open to observation by the public.

Remote public observation of the meeting will be allowed from the NRC's headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 5^th floor, Room B-2. Interested observers should contact meeting coordinators Karen Cotton at (301) 415-1438 or Larry Garner at (404) 562-4552, indicating their intention to attend, so that adequate copies of meeting materials are available.

No decision on the final significance, the apparent violation or any contemplated enforcement action will be made at the conference. Those decisions will be made by NRC officials at a later time.

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