NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III

801 Warrenville Road

Lisle IL 60532

No. III-00-34 June 23, 2000

CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630)829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov

Pam Alloway-Mueller (630)829-9662/e-mail: pla@nrc.gov

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS JUNE 28 ON LATEST ASSESSMENT OF BYRON,

ILLINOIS, NUCLEAR PLANT AND CHANGES IN REACTOR OVERSIGHT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold two public meetings Wednesday, June 28, in

Byron, Illinois, to discuss the latest performance review results for the Byron Nuclear Power Plant and

the NRC’s reactor oversight process. The plant is operated by Commonwealth Edison Co.

At the first meeting, which will begin at 3 p.m. CDT at the Byron Training Center, 4448 N.

German Church in Byron, the NRC staff will discuss the plant’s latest performance review results.

The Plant Performance Reviews (PPRs) are an interim measure the NRC has used to assess

nuclear power plant safety while a revised reactor oversight process was being developed. The primary

purpose of the PPRs is to evaluate safety performance information and identify any changes in plant

performance so the NRC can allocate inspection resources appropriately. The text of each PPR letter,

including the one on Byron, is available from the NRC Office of Public Affairs and has been posted at:

http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/ppr on the NRC web site.

The second NRC public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. CDT, also on Wednesday, June 28, in

the Byron Cultural Center at the corner of Washington & Third streets in Byron. NRC officials will

describe the new oversight program which began in April. Members of the public will have the

opportunity to ask questions during the meeting.

The new oversight program uses more objective, timely, and safety-significant criteria in

assessing performance, while seeking 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.

Under the new oversight program, inspections by NRC resident inspectors and regional officebased personnel are supplemented by statistical measures of plant activities called performance

indicators. These performance indicators measure important safety aspects of plant operations,

including the viability of redundant safety systems, emergency planning, radiation protection, and

security measures.

Inspection findings and performance indicators for each nuclear power plant are posted on the

NRC’s internet web site every three months. The safety significance of each inspection finding or

performance indicator is assessed with a color coding -- green, white, yellow, or red.
The NRC response to the inspection findings and performance indicators will be based on the

assessment. A green finding would receive normal NRC oversight, while white, yellow or red

assessments would receive increasing NRC involvement. Multiple red findings could result in a plant

shutdown.

Current performance information for the Byron plant is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html

A plain language summary of the new reactor oversight process is available from the NRC

Office of Public Affairs or on the web site at http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/primer.htm

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