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Hope Creek and Salem

In late 2003, the NRC initiated a special review at Salem Unit 1, Unit 2, and Hope Creek to assess the environment for raising and addressing safety issues. The NRC has received questions and concerns about the process and results of the special review. This Web page provides information to the public on the history of these work environment issues and the NRC's proactive response to them.

For additional information, see our Reactor Oversight Process and plant performance Web pages for Hope Creek, Salem Unit 1, and Salem Unit 2.

The Salem and Hope Creek Generating Stations are located 18 miles southeast of Wilmington, Delaware. The operating licenses for Salem Units 1 and 2 were issued on August 13, 1976, and May 20, 1981, and they expire on August 13, 2016, and April 18, 2020, respectively. The operating license for Hope Creek was issued on July 25, 1986, and expires on April 11, 2026.

The NRC initiated a special review in response to information received from various allegations and inspections as well as NRC management insights related to the Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) at Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG). On January 28, 2004, the agency issued a letter to PSEG Nuclear, LLC, that provided interim results of the NRC's review and requested that PSEG conduct an in-depth assessment of work environment issues. In response to the NRC’s concerns, PSEG committed to provide significant financial resources to improve station performance and assess the work environment.

In July 2004, the NRC completed its special review and concluded, consistent with our preliminary results, that there were indications of weaknesses in corrective actions and management efforts to establish an environment where employees are consistently willing to raise safety concerns. The NRC found examples of unresolved conflict and poor communication between management and staff, as well as underlying staff and management frustration with poor equipment reliability. The equipment issues stemmed, in part, from weaknesses in implementation of station processes such as work management and corrective action. In August 2004, the NRC identified a substantive cross-cutting issue in SCWE based on the results of the special review.

Also in August 2004, the NRC Executive Director for Operations approved a deviation from the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) to provide a greater level of oversight for the Salem and Hope Creek stations than would typically be called for by the ROP Action Matrix to closely monitor PSEG's actions to address issues associated with SCWE. The NRC's enhanced oversight included additional inspections, senior NRC management involvement in meetings, and an internal NRC oversight coordination team. The deviation memo also identified "exit criteria" for enhanced oversight. Specifically, the memo stated the NRC would return to a normal level of monitoring when PSEG self assessment concluded that substantial, sustainable progress had been made in the work environment, and the NRC completed a review which confirmed PSEG's conclusions.

The NRC monitored PSEG's improvement actions during 2004-2005 through baseline inspections, additional inspections in Problem Identification and Resolution (PI&R), a team inspection of SCWE in September 2005, quarterly reviews of SCWE metrics, special inspections of PSEG's implementation of the Employee Concerns Program and Executive Review Board, increased senior NRC management site visits, and through monthly SCWE oversight coordination team meetings.

In January 2006, PSEG completed a safety culture survey that showed improvement in most cultural metrics compared to previous survey results from 2005. In March 2006, PSEG concluded that efforts to improve the work environment were both substantial and sustainable, and subsequently commissioned an independent peer assessment of the SCWE. The peer assessment team, which included several members with significant management, regulatory, and SCWE-related experience, also concluded that substantial and sustainable progress had been in the work environment at both stations. The peer assessment report was submitted to the NRC in May 2006.

In June 2006, the NRC completed a second SCWE team inspection to independently assess PSEG's conclusions. The team determined that PSEG's improvements in the work environment were substantial and sustainable.

As part of the preparations for the 2006 mid-cycle assessment meeting, the staff reviewed the results of inspections, Salem and Hope Creek SCWE metrics, examined the number and nature of allegations received by the NRC, and reviewed the significance and characteristics of inspection findings. These activities, as well as the SCWE team inspection results from September 2005 and June 2006, confirmed that the work environment improvements were substantial and sustainable. Based on these assessments, the NRC concluded the substantive cross-cutting issue in SCWE should be closed. Additionally, the NRC determined that the Salem and Hope Creek SCWE would be monitored through baseline inspections, with some baseline inspections targeted at further work environment improvements. The NRC determined that the ROP deviation memo would not require renewal for this effort.