 |
NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II
101 Marietta St., Suite 2900, Atlanta, GA 30323 | | CONTACT: |
Ken Clark (Phone: 404-331-5503, E-mail: kmc2@nrc.gov ) |
| Roger Hannah (Phone 404-331-7878, E-mail: rdh1@nrc.gov ) |
No.: II-96-75 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Ken Clark 404-331-5503 (Tuesday, September 10, 1996)
Roger Hannah 404-331-7878
SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT RATED GOOD
IN ALL FOUR AREAS OF NRC ASSESSMENT REPORT
The Sequoyah nuclear power plant received performance ratings of good in plant
operations, maintenance, engineering and plant support in the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's latest systematic assessment of licensee performance (SALP) of the facility.
The SALP report was sent September 6 to the Tennesee Valley Authority, which
operates the facility near Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee. It evaluates the plant's performance from
January 8, 1995, through July 27 of this year.
NRC and TVA officials will discuss the report during a meeting set for 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 18, at the Sequoyah 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.
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 depending on whether their performance in those areas was superior, good or adequate.
The report on Sequoyah gives the plant a Category 2 rating in plant operations, maintenance,
engineering and plant support, indicating "good" performance. In the previous SALP report
in February 1995, the plant also received 2's in all four areas.
In his cover letter to the report, NRC Regional Administrator Stewart Ebneter said
"overall performance of the Sequoyah plant was assessed as good." He mentioned an
excessive number of reactor trips early in the assessment period with an improving trend
toward the end of the period.
Ebneter said improvement was noted in shutdown operations and personnel error
reduction, but "weak areas were found in root cause evaluation and controls for infrequently
performed evolutions." He said maintenance performance continued to be good although
challenges also remain in that area.
In the letter, Ebneter highlighted good engineering performance in design controls,
backlog reduction and hardware modifications, but said there was weaker performance in
corrective actions and support of operations and maintenance.
In the plant support area, Ebneter said performance was good, particularly in
radiological and effluent controls and security. However, he said "weaknesses were found in
emergency planning maintenance while resolution of long term fire protection issues
continued to be slow."
###
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 (http://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.
|
