The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Exelon Generation Company on Thursday, April 19, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for the last year at the Clinton nuclear power plant. The two-unit plant is located near Clinton.
The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. CDT at the Clinton Elks Lodge, 1520 E. South St., in Clinton. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment, talk about the NRC, and its range of activities, and be available to respond to questions or comments from the public before the close of the meeting.
“The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Clinton plant and the nation’s other nuclear power facilities,” said Acting Regional Administrator for NRC Region III Cynthia Pederson. “During this meeting, we will discuss the plant’s performance during last year and the NRC’s actions to make sure the plant continues to operate safely. Those actions included additional inspections in response to the events at the Fukushima Daiichi facilities to evaluate the safety of US nuclear plants. The reviews showed that Clinton and other US plants continue to operate safely. ”
A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials addresses the plant’s annual performance and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/clin_2011q4.pdf.
Overall, the NRC found that the Clinton plant operated safely in 2011. All performance indicators and inspection findings were determined to be “green.” The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.
Clinton will continue to receive the detailed inspection regime required for plants that are operating well and require no additional oversight. Inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region III Office
in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations being inspected are radiation protection, emergency preparedness, buried piping, and problem identification and resolution.
The most current performance information for Clinton is available on the NRC website at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CLIN/clin_chart.html.
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