NRC TO DISCUSS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
OF NINE MILE POINT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
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The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Joint News Center for the plant, located at the Oswego County Airport, 2262 N.Y. State Route 176 in Fulton, N.Y. Before the session is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of the Nine Mile Point units, 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 plant officials addresses the performance of the facility 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/nmp_2002q4.pdf

Overall, Nine Mile Point operated safely and met all cornerstone objectives, the letter indicates. (Cornerstones are measures of plant performance.) Therefore, the NRC plans to conduct only baseline inspections at the site through March 31, 2004.

During the last assessment period, the NRC conducted a supplemental inspection at Nine Mile Point to review the company’s response in two areas: Unit 1 “High-Pressure Safety Injection Unavailability,” which refers to the operability of a type of emergency reactor cooling system, and Unit 2 “Unplanned Scrams per 7000 Critical Hours,” which refers to the number of unplanned shutdowns of the reactor. The inspection determined that Nine Mile Point had performed comprehensive evaluations for the causes of both issues. However, the NRC will continue to monitor the company’s progress toward addressing those issues through the baseline inspection program.

The letter also 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 Nine Mile Point Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/NMP1/nmp1_chart.html

Current performance information for Nine Mile Point Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/NMP2/nmp2_chart.html

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Monday, December 08, 2008