NRC TO MEET WITH EXELON GENERATION COMPANY
TO DISCUSS PERFORMANCE OF DRESDEN NUCLEAR PLANT
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Exelon Generation Company on Thursday, April 29, to discuss the results of the agency's assessment of safety performance at the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant during 2003. The facility, which has two reactor units, is located near Morris, Illinois.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Grundy County Administration Building, 1320 Union Street, in Morris. The public is invited to observe the meeting, and NRC officials will be available before the conclusion of the meeting to answer questions from the public. In addition, the NRC staff will provide an overview of how the agency's Reactor Oversight Process works.

The NRC has concluded that the plant operated safely last year, and plant performance does not require additional inspections beyond the normal inspection program. Routine inspections are performed by the two NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the NRC's Region III office in Lisle, Illinois.

In its assessment, the NRC notes that two violations were issued against the company last year for providing incomplete and inaccurate information to the Commission. One instance occurred in 2001 and the second in 2003. The NRC has completed inspections to review the company’s corrective actions for these two violations and found the actions taken to be acceptable.

A March 4 letter from the NRC to Exelon officials addresses the performance of the plant during 2003 and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/dres_2003q4.pdf.

With regard to security issues, the NRC has issued several orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The agency has also conducted inspections to review the implementation of these requirements and has monitored the action of plant operators in response to changing threat conditions. The NRC will continue security inspections during 2004.

Current performance indicators and inspection findings for the Dresden plant are available on the NRC web site at:
(Unit 2) http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DRES2/dres2_chart.html and (Unit3) http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DRES3/dres3_chart.html. (Note: Unit 1 has been shut down since 1978 and is in decommissioning status.)

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Thursday, February 22, 2007