Making Performance Information
Available to the Public

The revised oversight process provides more
information on plant performance than in the
past, and the information is available on a mor
frequent basis. This information is placed on
the NRC’s internet web site as well as in its Public
Document Room at NRC headquarters.

A utility submits to the NRC the quarterly
performance indicator data for each nuclear
power plant it operates. The NRC staff reviews
the data for completeness and accuracy and
evaluates inspection findings to determine their
safety significance. This review uses the agency's
“Significance Determination Process,” which is
keyed to how plant safety systems and procedures
contribute to the risk of a potential accident.

The performance indicators and the assess-
ment of inspection findings are placed on the
NRC web site using the color notation of their
significance —= green, white, yellow, or red. The
statistics and inspection findings which underlie
the color notation are also posted on the web site.

The revised oversight process is intended to
fulfill the Following four goals established by the

Commission:

1. To maintain safety by establishing a regulatory
oversight framework that provides assurance
thar plants continue to be operated safely by
plant operators. Maintaining safety is the
NRC’s overarching mission.

2. To enhance public confidence in the NRC's
regulatory program by increasing the
preciictability, consistency, objectivity and
transparency of the oversight process so that
all parties are well served by the changes
taking place.

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

3. To improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and
realism of the oversight process by focusing
both agency resources and utility resources on
those issues with the most safety-significance.

4. To reduce unnecessary regulatory burden as
the process becomes more efficient and
effective.

Plant Performance Information
on the Web

Information ona nuclear plant's recent perform-
ance is posted quarterly on the NRC’s internet web
site. You can access this information on your
personal computer or on a computer in a public
library, school, or other location.

This information includes the performance
indicators — the safety data submitted by the
utility in key areas of plant opemtion — and NRC
inspection findings.



Barrier Integrity - There are three im portant
barriers between the highly radioactive materials
in the fuel within the reactor and the public and
the environment outside the plant. These barriers
are the sealed rods containing the fuel pellets, the
heavy steel reactor vessel and associated piping,
and the reinforced concrete containment building
surrounding the reactor. The integrity of the fuel
rods, the vessel, and the piping is continuously
checked for leakage, while the ability of the
containment to prevent leakage is measured on

a regular basis.

Emergency Preparedness - Each nuclear plant

is required to have comprehensive emergency
plans to respond to a possible accident. This
cornerstone measures the effectiveness of the plant
staff in carrying out its emergency plans. Such
emergency plans are tested every two years during
emergency exercises involving the plant staff and
local, state, and, in some cases, feceral agencies.

Ocerpational Radiation Safety - NRC regula-
tions set a limit on radiation doses received by
plant workers, and this cornerstone monitors the
effectiveness of the plant’s program to control and
minimize those doses.

Public Radiation Safety - This cornerstone
measures the procedures and systems designed to
minimize radioactive releases from a nuclear plant
during normal operations and to keep those
releases within federal limits.

Physical Protection- Nuclear plants are required
to have well-trained security personnel and a
variety of protective systems to guard vital plant
equipment, as well as programs to assure that
employees are constantly fit For duty through
drug and alcohol testing. This cornerstone

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

measures the effectiveness of the security and fit-
ness-for-duty programs.

Jn addition to the cornerstones, the reactor oversight
prognim features three “cross-cutting” elements, so
named because they affect and are therefore part of

cach of the cornerstones:
* Human performance

* Management attention to safety and
workers’ ability ¢o raise scfety isstes
(The so-called “safety-conscious work
environment”)

* Finding and fixing problems (The

utility's cormctive action program)

The review and assessment of these cross-
cutting elements have an important role in the
new process. A diagram of this regulatory frame-
work follows.



Office of Public Affairs

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Watshinglon, DC 20555-0001
Telephone: 301/415-8200

NUREG-1649, Rev. 3
July 2000


In the past, the NRC tended to use fines as a
prime indicator of agency concern and as a
motivator to affect licensee corrective actions.
Under the new approach, there is a system of
specified agency actions if performance declines.
These are indicated in the agency “Action
Matrix.” Fines will generally be reserved for such
things as discriminating against workers raising
safety concerns, or willful misseporting of
required information.

The NRC%s actions for performance below the
“green” level may include meetings with the utility,
additional inspections, and required reviews and
response by the utility. Further declines in
performance would warrant stronger action by the
NRC, including a civil penalty, order or even the
suspension of the utility’s operating license.

Table 2 summarizes the levels of NRC’s response
to plant performance.

Violations of NRC Requirements

Each violation of NRC requirem ents found
during NRC inspections is evaluated to determine
its effect on plant safety and risk. If the violation
is of very low safety significance, it will be
discussed in the inspection report with no formal
enforcement action. The utility is expected to deal
with the violation through its corrective action
program, correcting the violation and taking steps
to prevent a recurrence. The issue may also be
reviewed during future NRC inspections.

If the NRC risk evaluation finds that the
violation has higher safety significance, a Notice of
Violation will be issued, A Notice of Violation may
also be issued if the utility fails to correct a violation
of low safety significance in a reasonable period of
time or if a violation is found to be willful.

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

The Notice of Violation requires the utility to
respond formally to the NRC with its actions to
correct the violation and what steps it will take to
prevent the violation from occurring again. The
agency will then review the utility’s actions in a
later inspection.

Normally, these violations are not the
subject of a fine. However, there may be viola-
tions that warrant a fine because of their unusual
significance. These violations are likely to be
uncommon. Possible examples include exceeding
a safety limit specified in a reactor license or the
inadvertent startup of a reactor.

In addition, some violations call for the
traditional enforcement approach, including the
possible issuance of fines. Examples include:

* Discrimination against workers for raising
safety Issues or other willful violations.

¢ Actions that may adversely affect the
NRC’ ability to monitor utility activities,
including failure to report required infor-
mation, failure to obtain NRC approval for
plant changes, failure to maintain accurate
records, or failure to provide the NRC with

complete and accurate information.

¢ Incidents with actual safety consequences,
including radiation exposures above NRC
limits, releases of radioactive material
above NRC limits, or failure to notify
government agencies when an emergency
response is required.



NRC Reactor Oversight Process

The inspection program is designed to verify
the accuracy of performance indicator inform a-

tion and to assess performance that is not directly
measured by the performance indicator data.

Table I
Safety Cornerstones Performance Indicator

Unplanned reactor shutdowns (automatic and manual}

Initiating Events m c zi i
Loss of normal reactor cooling systems following unplanned

shutdown

Unplanned events that result in significant changes in reactor
power

Mitigating Systems Safery Systems not available

. specif Emergency Core Cooling Systems
* Emergency Electric Power Systems

Salery System Failure

Integrity of Barriers to Fuel Cladding (measured by radioactivity in reactor cooling
Release of Radioactivity | systems)

Reactor cooling system leak rate

Emergency Emergency response organization drill performance
Preparedness

Readiness of emergency response organization

Availability of notification system for area residents

Occupational Compliance with regulations for controlling access to radation
Radiation Safety areas in plant

Uncontrolled radaton exposures to workers greater than 10
percent of regulatory limit

Public Radiation Effluent releases requiring reporting under NRC regulations and
Safety licanse conditions
Physical Protection Security systems equipment availability

Personnel screening program performance

Emp byee firness-for-duty program effectiveness



NRC Reactor Oversight Process

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Missions

Protect Public Health and Safer

in the Operation rg tegetseen f

Nuclear Fower Mants
ReeFoemance TE i Reactor Safety Radiation Safety
2 7 ieain fer it i Public

Comerstones: | Phical ining bp [lama lp frp a ea ae

Measuring and Inspecting
Nuclear Plant Performance

Nuclear plant performance is measured by a
combination of objective performance indicators
and by the NRC inspection program. These are
closely focused on those plant activities having
the greatest impact on safety and overall risk. In
addition, the NRC conducts both periodic and
annual reviews of the effectiveness of each utility's
programs to identify and correct problems.

Performance indicators use objective data
to monitor performance within each of the
cornerstones. (See Table 1) The data which make
up the performance indicators ar generated by
the utilities and submitted to the NRC ona
quarterly basis. Each performance indicator is
measured against established thresholds which

are related to their effect on safety. Performance

indicators ar reviewed by the NRC staff and
posted on the NRC’s web site. While perform -
ance indicators can provide insights into plant
performance for selected areas, the NRC's
inspection program provides a greater depth
and breadth of information for consideration by
the NRC in assessing plant performance.



Assessing Plant Performance

The inspection staff has developed a proce-
dure, called the “Significance Determ ination
Process,” to help inspectors determine the safety
significance of inspection findings. This process is
used for an initial screening review to identify
those inspection Findings that would not result in
a significant increase in risk and thus need not be
analyzed further (a “green” finding). Remaining
inspection findings — which may have an effect
on plant risk — are then subject to a more thor-
ough risk assessment, using the next phase of the
Significance Determination Process. This more
detailed assessment may involve NRC risk experts
from the appropriate regional office and further
review by the utility's plant staff. The final out-
come of the review — evaluating whether the
finding is green, white, yellow, or red — is used
to determine what further NRC action may be
called for.

Each calendar quarter, the resident inspectors
and the inspection staff in the regional office
review the performance of all nuclear power
plants in that region, as measured by the per-
formance indicators and by inspection findings.
Every six months, this review is expanded to
include planning of inspections for the following
12-month period.

Each year, the final quarterly review involves a
more detailed assessment of plant performance
over the previous 12 months and preparation of a
performance report, as well as the inspection plan
for the following year. This review includes NRC
headquarters staff members, the regional staff,
and the resident inspectors.

These annual performance reports are
available to the public on the agency's web site.

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

In addition the NRC staff holds public meetings
with utilities to discuss the previous years perform -
ance at each plant.

In addition, NRC senior management reviews
the adequacy of agency actions for plants with
significant performance problems. The managers
also take a wider view both of the overall industry
performance and of the performance of the
agency's regulatory programs. The performance
of plants requiring heightened agency scrutiny
will then be discussed during a public meeting
with the NRC Commissioners at the agency's
Rockville, Maryland, headquarters.

How the NRC Will Respond to
Plant Performance

The quarterly reviews of plant performance,
using both the performance indicators and inspec-
tion findings, determines what additional action,
if any; the NRC will take if there are signs of
declining performance. This approach to enfore-
ment is intended to be more predictable than
previous practices by linking regulatory actions to
performance criteria. The new process utilizes
four levels of regulatory response with NRC
regulatory review increasing as plant performance
declines. The first two levels of heightened regula-
tory review are managed by the appropriate rgion-
al office. The next two levels call for an agency
response, involving senior management attention
from both headquarters and regional offices.

The oversight program retains the same tools
used in the past for dealing with declining plant
performance and violations. These tools, however,
are used in a more predictable manner that is com -
mensurate with the decreased safety performance.



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tddts sd sy° AL
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How This New Oversight Process
Differs from the Previous Approach

The previous oversight process evolved over a
period of time when the nuclear power industry
was less mature and there was less operational
experience on which to base rules and regulations.
Very conservative judgments governed the rules
and regulations. Significant plant operating
events occurred with some frequency, therefore
the oversight process tended to be reactive and
prescriptive, closely observing plant performance
for adherence to the regulations and responding
to operational problems as they occurred.

But we now have the benefit of four decades
of operational experience and, generally speaking,
steadily improving plant performance, particularly
over the last decade or so. The new progam
focuses more of the agency's resources on the
relatively small number of plants which evidence
performance problems. The baseline inspection
program is considered the minimum inspection
effort needed to assure that plants meet the
“safety cornerstone” objectives. The baseline
inspection program is performed at all reactor
sites by NRC resident inspectors and inspectors
from the regional offices.

Plants which do not meet the “safety corner-
stone” objectives, measured by perform ance
indicators and inspection findings, receive
increased inspection, focusing on areas of declining
performance. There are also inspections beyond
the baseline program, even at plants performing
well, if there are operational problems or events the
NRC believes require greater scrutiny. Generic
problems, affecting some or all plants, may also
require additional inspections.

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

The previous oversight program relied more
heavily on fines when violations occurred, while
the new program makes broader use of other
enforcement tools such as orders and other formal
regulatory actions, When fines were imposed
previously, they were often issued long after the
violations occurred and their impact was
substantially less than the cost of repairs or the
costs associated with a shutdown to correct the
violations. The new process is intended to be
more effective in comecting performance or
equipment problems because the agency's response
is both more timely and more preciictable.

The new assessment program is substantially
different from the previous one. It makes greater
use of objective performance indicators. Together,
the indicators and inspection findings provide the
information needed to support reviews of plant
performance, to be conducted on a quarterly basis,
with the results posted at wwware.gov/
NRR/OVERSIG HT/ASSESS/index.html on the
NRC's web site.

ll


NRC Reactor Oversight Process

Table 2

Assessment of Plant Performance
{in order of increasing: sefery significance)

NRC Response

(0 Be SEH REE
comerstonc inspection findings (REN
* Cormerstane objectives fully mer

+ Romtine inspeeror and staff interaction
* Basdine mspection program
Annual assessment public meccing

. No more dian two WHITE inputs in

different cornerstones

* Cornerstone objectives fully met.

Response at Regional lev

Staff to hold public mecting with utility
maragemcnt

Uriliry corrective action to address
WHITE inputs

NRC inspection followup on WHITE
inputs and comective action

Cine degraded carnerstone (nwo

WIEN: inpnrs or one YELLOW inpur or
three WITTE. inpurs in any performance
aea)

+ Cornerstone objectives mer with
minimal reduction in satecy margin

Response at Regional level
Senior regional management to hold
public meeting with utllay
management
Urilicy ta concer self-asiessmene with
NRC oversight
Addiuonal inspections locused on
cause of degraded performance

IN.

Repetitive degraded cornersrone,

multiple degraded cornerstones, or

multiple YELLOW inputs, or one

RED input

* Cornerstone objective met with
longstanding issucs or signiticant
reduction in safery margin

Response at Agency level
Executive Director for Operations
holds public: mecting with senior
utility management
Uriliry develops performance
improvement plan with NRC
oversight
NRC team inspection focused on
cause of degraded performance
Demand lor Information, Conticmation
Action Leer, or Order

.

.

Vv.

Unacepeslile reduction

* Unacepuble eduction in saluy
imargin

Response at Agency level
Plant not perinitted to operate
Comunission meeting with senior utility
manayement
* Order to modify, suspend, or revoke

Nicerme



Using Performance Indicators

The performance indicator data are evaluated
and integrated with findings of the NRC inspection
progam. Each of the performance indicators has
criteria for measuring acceptable performance. (As
in all industrial activities, nuclear power plants are
not error-free or risk-free. Equipment problems
and human errors will occur Each performance
indicator is designed to determine acceptable levels
of operation within substantial safety margins.)
These objective criteria are designed to reflect risk
according to established safety margins, as indicated
by a color coding system.

A “green” coding indicates performance within
an expected performance level in which the related
cornerstone objectives are met. “ White” indicates
performance outside an expected range of nominal
utility performance but related comerstone objec-
tives are still being met. “Yellow” indicates related
cornerstone objectives are being met, but with a
minimal reduction in safety margin. “Red” indi-
cates a significant reduction in safety margin in the
area measured by that performance indicator. The
performance indicators are reported to the NRC on
a quarterly basis by each utility. Following compila-
tion and review by the NRC staff, the performance
indicators are posted at www.nregov/
NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html on the
NRC's web site.

Scope of Inspections

The revised oversight process continues to
utilize a variety of NRC inspectors who monitor
plant activities. The inspections are performed by
NRC resident inspectors stationed at each nuclear
power plant and by inspectors based in one of the
four NRC regional offices or in NRC headquarters
in Rockville, Maryland. The regional offices are in

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia;
Lisle, Illinois; and Arlington, Texas.

The revised process includes baseline inspections
common to all nudear plants. The baseline
inspection progam, based on the “cornerstone”
areas, focuses on activities and systems that ar “risk
significant,” that is, those activities and systems that
have a potential to trigger an accident, can mitigate
the effects of an accident, or increase the conse-
quences of a possible accident.

The baseline inspection program has three parts
— inspection of areas not covered by performance
indicators or where a performance indicator does
not fully cover the inspection ara; inspections
to verify the accuracy of a licensee's reports on
performance indicators; and a thorough review of
the utility’s effectiveness in finding and resolving
problems on its own.

The inspection program also reviews the “cross-
cutting issues” of human performance, the “safety-
conscious work environment,” and how the utilities
find and fix problems. Inspections beyond the
baseline are performed at plants with performance
below established thresholds, as assessed through
information gained from performance indicators
and NRC inspections. Additional inspections may
also be performed in response to a specific event or
problem which may arise ata plant.

The new inspection program uses a “risk-
informed” approach to select areas to inspect within
each cornerstone. The inspection areas were chosen
because of their importance from the point of view
of potential risk, past operational experience, and
regulatory requirements.

Inspection reports are issued for all inspections
just as under the previous inspection program. The
reports are available to the public on the NRC's
internet web site and from its Public Document

Room at NRC headquarters.



The improvements in plant performance can
be attributed both to efforts within the nuclear
industry and to successful regulatory oversight.
Despite this success, the NRC has noted that
previous processes for inspection, assessment,
and enforcement were not always focused on the
most important safety issues. In some situations,
regulatory activities have been redundant or
incfticient and, at times, overly subjective. NRC
actions were not always sufficiently understand-
able or predictable.

To address these concerns, the new oversight

prognim cals jor:

2 Focusing inspections on activities where
the potential risks are greater

O Applying greater regulatory attention to
nuclear power plants with performance
problems, while maintaining a nomal level
of regulatory attention on facilities that
perform well

OQ Using objective measurements of the
performance of nuclear power plants

Q Giving both the public and the nuclear
industry timely and understandable

assessments of plant performance

OQ Reducing unnecessary regulatory burden
on nuclear facilities

O Responding to violations of regulations in
a predictable and consistent manner that
reflects the potential safety impact of the
violations

The key features of the program deal with
new methods for inspecting and assessing
performance to ensure safe operation. It spells

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

out more clearly what a nuclear plant operator
can expect from the NRC with good plant per-
formance and what can be expected from the
NRC, if performance declines.

Setting the Cornerstones of Safe
Operation

The new reactor oversight process is, of
course, anchored in the NRC’s mission to ensure
public health and safety in the operation of com-
mercial nuclear power plants. That will always
remain the agency's overarching responsibility.

The objective is to monitor performance in
three broad areas — reactor safety (avoiding acci-
dents and reducing the consequences of accidents
if they occur); radiation safety for both plant
workers and the public during routine operations;
and protection of the plant against sabotage or
other security threats.

To measure plant performance, the oversight
process focuses on seven specific “comerstones”
which support the safety of plant operations in
the three broad performance areas.

Initiating Events - This cornerstone focuses on
operations and events at a nuclear plant that
could lead to a possible accident, if plant safety
systems did not intervene. These events could
include equipment failures leading to a plant
shutdown, shutdowns with unexpected
complications, or large changes in the plant's
power output.

Mitigating Systems - This cornerstone measures
the function of safety systems designed to prevent
an accident or reduce the consequences of a
possible accident. The equipment is checked by
periodic testing and through actual performance.



|
NRC Reactor Oversight Process

To access this information on the web, follow
these steps.

Step 1: Plant Index

Enter this web address:
bitpe//wwwcn rc.gov/ NRRIOVERSIGHT/ASSESS fin dex. biml
which will take you to the Reactor Assessment
web pages.

A listing of all the nuclear plant sites is in the
window on the left side of the screen.

ica —

Find the plant name in the index. Click on it to
go to the plant assessment information.

Step 2: Performance Indicators

You will then sec the top layer of information, k-
shown first on the web page, which gives a Tae Ren Sriveiee Scam ee Sonar ieee
general view of the plant’s performance. Each BE. Lie: Ee
performance indicator and each category of

inspection findings is shown with a color coding:
green, white, yellow, or red (with gray showing no
data for that period), Green indicates that per-
formance is acceptable and no additional NRC
oversight is needed. White and yellow

ratings will trigger additional regulatory action at
the regional or agency level. Red ratings in
multiple areas would represent unacceptable
performance and may require a plant shutdown.

14


Glossary

Baseline Inspection Program-The normal
inspection program perfomed at all nuclear
power plants. The program focuses on plant
activities that are not adequately measured by
performance indicators, on the corective action
program, and on verifying the accuracy of the
performance indicators.

Corrective Action Program-The system by
which a utility finds and fixes problems at the
nuclear plant. It includes a process for evaluating
the safety significance of the problems, setting

priorities in correcting the problems, and tracking
them until they have been corrected.

Cross-Cutting Area-Nuclear plant activity that
affects most or all safety cornerstones. These
include the plant’s cornerstone action program,
human performance, and “safety- conscious worl:
environment.”

Inspection Reperts-Reports are issued
periodically to document inspection findings.
These may cover a specific time period for the
baseline inspection or a particular event or
problem exam ined in a reactive inspection. All
inspection reports are public documents and,
when issued, are posted to the NRC's intemet
web site.

Performance Indicater-Objcctive data which
record performance in a specific cornerstone of
safety at a nuclear power plant.

Reactive Inspection-An inspection to examine
the circumstances surrounding an operational
problem or event occurring at a nuclear plant.

16

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

Regrdatory Conference-A meeting between the
NRC staff and a utility to discuss potential safety
issues or to discuss a change in performance as
indicated by a declining performance indicator or
inspection finding. These meetings are open to
public observation unless they cover security
issues, NRC investigation findings, or

similar sensitive topics.

Residenz Inspector-An NRC inspector assigned
toa nuclear plant on a full-time basis. Each site
has at least two resident inspectors.

Risk-Informed-Incorporating an assessment
of safety significance or selative risk in NRC
regulatory actions.

Safety Cornerstones-Nuclear plant activities that
are essential for the safe operation of the facility.
These cornerstones are grouped under the cate-
gories of wactor safety, radiation safety, and safe-
guards.

Safety-Conscious Work Environment-A
working environment in which employees are
encouraged to report safety concems without fear
of criticism or retaliation from their supervisors
because they raised the issue.

Significance Determination Process-The
process used by the NRC staff to evaluate
inspection findings to determine their safety
significance. This involves assessing how the
inspection findings affect the risk of a nuclear
plant accident, either as a cause of the accident
or the ability of plant safety systems or personnel
to respond to the accident.



Introduction

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has
revamped its inspection, assessment, and
enforcement programs for commercial nuclear
power plants. The new oversight process uses
more objective, timely, and safety-significant
criteria in assessing performance, while secking
to more effectively and efficiently regulate the
industry. It also takes into account improvements
in the performance of the nuclear industry over
the past twenty years.

The NRC tested the new process at thirteen
reactors at nine sites across the country on a pilot
basis in 1999 to identify what things worked well
and what improvements were called for before
beginning initial implementation at all nucear
power plants. After a year of experience has been
gained with the new oversight process at all plants,
the Com mission anticipates making further
improvements based on this wider experience.

The impetus behind this comprehensive change
in approach came both from the NRC’s own fun-
damental reviews of its regulatory
program as part of the “inventing government”
process and from concerns expressed by public
interest groups, the nuclear industry, and Congress.

The NRC's mission is to ensure adequate
protection of public health and safety as it relates
to the peaceful uses of nuclear materials in the
United States. The agency does not operate
nuclear power plants. Rather it regulates the safe
operation of the 103 commercial nuclear power
plants by mandating requirements for the design,
construction and operation of such plants. The
NRC conducts a rigorous process for licensing
plants to allow them to operate, as well as licens-

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

ing individual plant operators. The agency
provides continuous oversight of plant operations
to verify they ar being conducted in accordance
with regulations.

The NRC also establishes plant-specific
technical specifications which must be followed
by the plant operators to ensure that the proper
combination of safety-related equipment is avail-
able to safely shut down the plant in the event of
an accident. The NRC has full authority to take
whatever action is necessary to protect public
health and safety and may demand
immediate licensee actions, up to and including

a plant shutdown.

The commercial nuclear power industry in the
United States is a mature industry. Most of the plants
have been operating for more than 10 years, and half
of them have operated for more than 20 years. All
the evidence suggests that the safety and reliability of
the nuclear industry have improved markedly since the
late 1980's and early 1990's. The number of automat-
ic shutdowns, the number of significant safety prob-
lems, and the number of unplanned outages caused by
equipment problems have all decneasecl. (See Glossary
for definitions of terms).

NOTE: Fer infowrmation about the reactor ovenight process, go to the NRC
toed site at waminmre gow NRR/OVERSIGH Tiimedexbtmil cred alo see
page £3 of tixs report.



NRC Reactor Oversight Process

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The new assessment process also features expand-
ed reviews on a semi-annual basis to include
inspection planning and a performance report, all
of which are posted on the NRC's web site. The new
oversight process is depicted below.

The performance assessment process previously
involved three processes:

* Plant Performance Review-Conducted every
six months to assess events, inspection findings, and
other data. This review was done to plan future
inspections and to identify those plants with declining
performance that required further NRC action.

* Senior management meetings Twice a year,

NRC senior managers reviewed information assessing

NRC Reactor Oversight Process

REACTOR OVERSIGHT PROCESS

plant performance to discuss what regulatory action
was needed at plants with declining performance.
The managers designated those plants warranting
heightened NRC monitoring as being on a “watch
list.” These “watch list” plants were then discussed at
a public meeting with the Commission.

Systematic Assessment of Licensee
Performance (SALP) - Every 12 to 24 months,

the NRC staff performed a separate review of the
performance of each plant, preparing a Systematic
Assesment of Licensee Performance report. This
report included a numerical rating of the plant in four
categories — plant operations, maintenance, engincer-
ing, and plant support — as well as a narrative
discussion of performance in each area.

NRC Response Assessment Process Communications
NRC Inspections Public Mectings
Management Conference ; ‘ Press Releases
TI ise of Coareeths Actin |. Action Matrix > es Site
2 jonal Regulatory Actions f, .
I Asexment Reports: &
nent Rep
] Inspection Pans
|
| Eaforcement
| f
I Significance Determination Performance Indicators
l Process Threshold
| + +
I
! | |
—_ +——>
NRC Inspections Performance Indicators

12



|
NRC Reactor Oversight Process

This color coding, however, is just the begin-
ning of the information available on the web site.

On the computer screen, if you click on the
performance indicator box, you will go to the
information underlying that assessment. For the
performance indicators, you will sce the specific
data which go into the performance indicator.
These data — in table and chart form — cover
up to a two-year period to show any trend and to
provide a historical perspective.

Step 3: Inspection Findings

The inspection findings are on the same
screen as the performance indicators — simply
scroll down the page until the findings are
displayed. The findings use the same color cod-
ing as the performance indicators to show their
safety significance.

Clicking on the colored box will take you to
a screen with a description of what the NRC
inspectors found.

There may also be another box to access
inspection details that do not fit into the corner-
stone categories.

After each inspection finding — which is
marked with an icon indicating the safety
assessment color coding — ther is a link to the
entire inspection report thar includes the finding.
This report is in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format, a
standard document format readable in Windows,
Macintosh, and other computer formats. Most
computers include the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If you do not have it, it is available at no cost at
http://www.adobe.com on the internet.

15

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