NRC TO DISCUSS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
OF OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
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The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Lacey Township Municipal Building, 818 W. Lacey Road in Lacey. Before the session is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of the Oyster Creek plant, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe plant operation.

The performance period to be discussed is January 1 to December 31, 2002. In addition, NRC staff will provide an overview of how the agency’s Reactor Oversight Process works.

A letter sent from the NRC Region I Office to AmerGen 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/oc_2002q4.pdf

“Overall, Oyster Creek operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and fully met all cornerstone objectives,” the letter says. As a result, the NRC plans to conduct only baseline inspections at the plant through March 31, 2004. However, the NRC also intends to closely monitor the plant staff’s response to a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of human performance. Specifically, the NRC staff has noted instances of lapses in human performance with regard to adherence to procedures.

In addition, the letter notes: “As you are aware, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the NRC has issued several Orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness. We have conducted inspections to review your implementation of these requirements and have monitored your actions in response to changing threat conditions. For calendar year 2003, we plan to continue these inspections, conduct portions of the security baseline inspection program, as well as perform additional inspections to evaluate your compliance with new requirements that may be ordered.“

Current performance information for Oyster Creek is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/OC/oc_chart.html

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