United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs, Region I

475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406

Fax: 610/337-5241

Internet: dps@nrc.gov or nas@nrc.gov

I-99-45 April 15, 1999

Contact: Diane Screnci (610/337-5330) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Neil A. Sheehan (610/337-5331)

NRC ISSUES LATEST PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF INDIAN POINT 2

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has found that safety performance remains

acceptable in the NRC’s latest plant performance review at the Indian Point 2 nuclear power

plant, in Buchanan, N.Y. The plant is operated by Consolidated Edison Company of New York.

The review assesses performance at the site from April 1998 through January 1999.

In a letter to Consolidated Edison outlining the results, NRC Region I official, A.

Randolph Blough, said, since restarting in September 1998 from a prolonged outage to address

a large backlog of equipment problems, and programmatic and performance concerns, “the unit

operated at full power with the exception of a five-day shutdown two weeks after restart.” He

said, “The senior management team [at the site] ensured that the necessary corrective actions

were implemented before startup to address performance and programmatic concerns and that

long-term corrective action plans were established.”

Mr. Blough also said licensed operator performance improved, as did plant material

condition. He noted “general improvement in the site problem identification and corrective

action system,” although “some problems with timeliness and adequacy of issue resolution

remained.” Reducing the large backlog of outstanding corrective action items, and the

backlogs in maintenance and engineering remained a challenge. While overall improvements

in engineering were noted, some weaknesses continued in the understanding of the plant’s

design basis.

In addition to the normal NRC inspection program, NRC plans to conduct three

inspections at the initiative of the Regional Office. One is an operational safety team insection

to evaluate progress in improving operational performance. An engineering inspection focusing

on the management of engineering backlogs, maintenance rule implementation and corrective

action effectiveness is planned. The NRC also will review the operational status of the

emergency preparedness program.

The text of the plant performance review letter is available from the NRC Region I Office

of Public Affairs and on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/ppr.

NRC reviews safety performance twice a year at every licensed nuclear power plant in

the nation. These reviews, called plant performance reviews (PPRs), give the agency staff an

integrated assessment of plant performance and provide a basis for planning inspection

activities.

Plant performance reviews are an interim measure NRC is utilizing to monitor nuclear

power plant safety. The agency began using it for this purpose after suspending the

Systematic Assessment of License Performance (SALP) process until a new oversight and
assessment program is developed. Previously, SALP reports were issued every 12 to 24

months.

The new reactor oversight and assessment program being developed will provide

quarterly performance reports, based on a number of performance indicators and on inspection

findings. This program will be tested at eight sites beginning in June and will be extended to all

plants next January. A full description of the new program is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/primer.htm.

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