NRC: News Release - 2005-098 - NRC Renews Operating License for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2, for an Additional 20 Years

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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
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No. 05-098

July 1, 2005

NRC RENEWS OPERATING LICENSE FOR ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE,
UNIT 2, FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARS
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating license of the Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO) power plant, Unit 2, for an additional 20 years.

The ANO plant is located about 6 miles from Russellville, Ark. The licensee, Entergy Operations Inc., submitted its license renewal application on Oct. 15, 2003. With the renewal, the license for ANO Unit 2 is extended to July 17, 2038. The operating license for ANO Unit 1 was renewed June 20, 2001, and will expire May 20, 2034.

The NRC’s environmental review for this license renewal is described in a site-specific supplement to the NRC’s "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants" (NUREG-1437, Supplement 19), issued in April. The review concluded there were no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons. Two public meetings to discuss the environmental review were held near the plant on Feb. 3 and Oct. 21, 2004.

After carefully reviewing the plant’s safety systems and specifications, the staff concluded that there were no safety concerns that would preclude license renewal, because the licensee had demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging. The "Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2," was published in June. In addition, NRC conducted inspections of the plants to verify information submitted by the licensee. The reports relating to the ANO Unit 2 renewal are available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/ano-2.html.

On May 13, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards – an independent body of technical experts which advises the Commission – issued its recommendation that the operating license for ANO Unit 2 be renewed. That recommendation is contained in "Report on the Safety Aspects of the License Renewal Application for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2." This document is available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/letters/2005/.

The ANO Unit 2 renewal brings the total number of renewals to 33 reactor units. A complete listing of renewal applications can be found on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html.