NRC TO DISCUSS CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR PLANT ANNUAL ASSESSMENT
AT PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 8 IN PRINCE FREDERICK, MD.
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The results of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual safety performance assessment for the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant will be discussed at a public meeting on Tuesday, April 8. The session is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Constellation Energy Joint Information Center, at 100 Skipjack Road in Prince Frederick, Md.

Calvert Cliffs is a twin-reactor plant located in Lusby (Calvert County), Md., and operated by Constellation Energy, LLC.

Prior to the conclusion of the meeting, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the plant’s performance, as well as the agency’s oversight of the facility.

“Through a combination of inspection findings and performance indicators, we are able to develop a comprehensive picture of how nuclear power plants are performing with regard to safety,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins. “As part of our commitment to make the findings of our reviews accessible to the public, we hold meetings near each plant once a year to share the details of those assessments. We look forward to the opportunity on April 8th to present that information for the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant.”

The annual assessment letter for Calvert Cliffs is available on the NRC web site at:  http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/calv_2007q4.pdf. The notice for the meeting, with agenda attached, is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML080720471. The slides for the meeting are available under accession number ML080790171. ADAMS is accessible at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. Help in using ADAMS is available via the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR@NRC.GOV.

Overall, the Calvert Cliffs plant operated safely during 2007. When considering nuclear power plant performance, the NRC uses color-coded performance indicators and inspection findings. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.

At the conclusion of last year, there were no performance indicators for Calvert Cliffs that were other than “green” and no inspection findings that were “greater than green.”  Therefore, the plant will receive the baseline, or routine, level of inspections for the remainder of 2008.

Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 did have a “white” (low to moderate safety significance) inspection finding during the first two quarters of 2007. That finding involved an incorrect circuit-breaker setting that impacted the operability of one of the plant’s emergency diesel generators, which are used to provide back-up power in the event that off-site power is lost. The NRC completed a supplemental inspection in January 2007 to determine if Constellation had appropriately addressed the problem’s underlying causes and taken steps to prevent a recurrence. The inspection found that was the case and therefore the finding was closed as of July 1, 2007.

Routine inspections are carried out by the two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the agency’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas of performance at Calvert Cliffs to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are activities associated with the dry cask storage of spent fuel, radiological safety, containment building sump modifications and emergency preparedness.

Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV1/calv1_chart.html. Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at:  http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV2/calv2_chart.html.

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008