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No: II-97-51 July 1, 1997
"GOOD" IN TWO OTHER AREAS OF NRC ASSESSMENT REPORT
The Brunswick nuclear power plant received performance ratings of "superior" in two areas and "good" in the two other areas of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's latest systematic assessment of licensee performance (SALP) of the facility.
The SALP report was sent June 27 to Carolina Power & Light Company, which operates the facility near Southport, North Carolina. It evaluates the plant's performance from May 14, 1995 through May 24 of this year.
NRC and CP&L officials will discuss the report during a meeting set for 1:00 p.m. Friday, July 11, at the Brunswick site. The meeting will be open for public observation. NRC officials will be available after the meeting to speak with reporters, state and local officials, and members of the public.
The NRC SALP process rates licensees in four functional areas -- plant operations, maintenance, engineering, and plant support -- and assigns ratings of Category 1, 2 or 3 depending on whether their performance in those areas was superior, good or adequate.
The report on Brunswick gives the plant a Category 1 rating in plant operations and maintenance indicating "superior" performance, and a Category 2 rating in engineering and plant support, indicating "good" performance. The ratings in the plant's previous SALP report, issued in June 1995, were Category 1's in all four areas assessed.
In his cover letter to the report, NRC Regional Administrator Luis Reyes said performance in plant operations was "characterized by good management oversight through control of daily plant activities and clear management expectations." He said maintenance performance was superior with "record-setting plant availability, well managed outages and low maintenance backlogs."
In explaining the decline in engineering, Reyes pointed to problems in the modifications area and the Environmental Qualification program. In the plant support area, Reyes said performance exhibited a suprior level of safety in radioactive waste and emergency planning, but the area declined due to deficiencies in the control of collective radiation dose, the control of radioactive contamination and security.
Overall, Reyes said management made conservative operating decisions, but safety assessment and quality verification performance was mixed. He also noted that while self assessments often identified issues, "corrective action remained a problem."
EDITORS: A copy of the full SALP report is available from this office. SALP reports are also available on the NRC's Internet web site (www.nrc.gov/OPA) and by e-mail subscription. To receive SALP reports by e-mail as they are issued, send an e-mail to listproc@nrc.gov with the following message: subscribe salp yourfirstname yourlastname.
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