NRC TO DISCUSS 2005 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
FOR PEACH BOTTOM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
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Exelon operates the twin-reactor plant, located near Delta (York County), Pa.

The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Peach Bottom Inn, 6085 Delta Road in Delta. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment and be available to respond to questions or comments from the public before the close of the meeting.

"As we do every year, we have carefully reviewed the safety performance of the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant during the previous calendar year," NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. "The meeting on April 26th will afford the public a chance to learn more about the results of our assessment and to pose any questions they might have regarding plant performance or our oversight activities."

A letter sent from the NRC Region I Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/pb_2005q4.pdf . The meeting notice, with the meeting agenda attached, is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML060870271. The NRC slides for the meeting are available in ADAMS under accession number ML060970018. ADAMS is accessible via the agency’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html . Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting 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 Peach Bottom plant operated safely during the period. The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear power plant performance. The colors start with "green" and then increase to "white," "yellow" or "red," commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. Because all of the inspection findings and performance indicators for the plant during the last quarter of 2005 were determined to be "green," Peach Bottom will receive a baseline (or routine) level of inspections during the upcoming assessment period.

Peach Bottom had a "white" performance indicator in effect during the first three quarters of last year. That indicator stemmed from Peach Bottom Unit 2 experiencing three scrams (shutdowns) with a loss of normal heat removal within 12 calendar quarters. However, an NRC supplemental inspection conducted in December 2005 concluded the company’s root cause evaluations and corrective actions for each of the events were appropriate. As of the start of 2006, the indicator returned to "green."

Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected during the next year by NRC specialists are emergency preparedness, radiological safety and dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel.

Current performance information for Peach Bottom Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PB2/pb2_chart.html.

Current performance information for Peach Bottom Unit 3 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PB3/pb3_chart.html.

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Thursday, February 22, 2007