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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV
611 Ryan Plaza Drive - Suite 400
Arlington, Texas 76011-8064 |
| CONTACT: |
Breck Henderson (817) 860-8128 |
RIV: 96-25 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Breck Henderson April 10, 1996
OFFICE: 817/860-8128
PAGER: (800) 443-7243 (065477)
GRAND GULF RATED 'SUPERIOR' IN THREE AREAS
'GOOD' IN ANOTHER IN LATEST NRC SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT REPORT
Grand Gulf Nuclear Station has received an evaluation of
"Superior" in three functional areas and "Good" in the fourth in
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's latest systematic assessment
of licensee performance (SALP) report.
The report was sent March 25 to Entergy Operations, Inc.,
which operates the plant near Port Gibson, Miss. It evaluates
the plant's performance between February 27, 1994 and February 24
of this year.
NRC and Entergy officials will discuss the report during a
meeting set for 9 a.m., April 18, in the Grand Gulf Energy Center
Auditorium. The meeting will be open for public observation.
NRC officials will be available afterward to speak with
reporters, state and local officials, and members of the public.
NRC systematic assessment reports rate licensees in four
functional areas--plant operations, maintenance, engineering, and
plant support--and assign ratings of Category 1, 2, or 3 which
characterize performance as superior, good or adequate. The
report on Grand Gulf assigns ratings of "Category 1" in
operations, engineering and plant support. A "Category 2" was
assigned to the maintenance area.
In his cover letter to the report, NRC Regional
Administrator L. Joe Callan said, "Although the SALP scores
indicate continued overall strong safety performance at the Grand
Gulf Nuclear Station, declining performance was observed in the
operations and maintenance areas."
"Safety performance in the area of maintenance was
considered to be good, indicating a decline from its previous
superior rating," the letter said. An increase in plant
transients and scrams caused by undetected material failures and
maintenance craft errors was the cause.
In operations, continued strong operator performance was
noted during both routine operations and plant transient
responses, and engineering and plant support areas continued to
exhibit superior safety performance.
"The SALP Board was concerned that your self assessment and
corrective action programs were not always effective at detecting
and correcting declining performance in a timely manner," Callan
said. However, he noted improvements toward the end of the
grading period resulting from scram reduction and engineering
self-assessment initiatives. Callan also praised the utility's
"superior performance" in successfully implementing NRC Improved
Standard Technical Specifications.
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EDITORS: A copy of the full SALP report is available from this
office on request.
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