NRC NEWS

 U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406

 Web Site: www.nrc.gov

No. I-03-035 April 23, 2003

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

 Neil A. Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

NRC TO MEET WITH PSEG TO DISCUSS ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS

OF HOPE CREEK AND SALEM NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Public Service

Electric and Gas (PSEG) on Wednesday, April 30, to discuss the results of the agency’s annual

assessments of safety performance at the Hope Creek and Salem Unit 1 and Unit 2 nuclear power

plants. The plants are located in Hancocks Bridge (Salem County), N.J.

 The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at

7 p.m. in the PSEG Emergency News Center. The center is housed in the Salem County

Department of Emergency Services Building, at 135 Cemetery Road in Salem, N.J. Before the

session is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public.

 The performance period to be discussed is January 1 to December 31, 2002. In

addition, NRC staff will provide an overview of how the agency’s Reactor Oversight Process

works, as well as efforts to upgrade nuclear plant security. PSEG will make presentations on

tritium leakage discovered at the site and performance focus areas.

 Letters sent from the NRC Region I Office to PSEG address the performance of the

plants during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. The letter

pertaining to Hope Creek is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/hope_2002q4/pdf

The letter pertaining to the Salem plants is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/salm_2002q4.pdf

 Overall, Hope Creek operated safely, the letter states. As a result, the NRC plans to

conduct only baseline inspections at the plant through March 31, 2004. However, the NRC will

closely monitor the utility’s ability to effectively identify and resolve problems during the
assessment period. This is based on numerous inspection findings where there were ineffective

evaluations of problems and untimely, inadequate corrective actions.

 In the March 3rd letter regarding the Salem plants, the NRC likewise found that those

units operated safely and met all cornerstone objectives. Consequently, the NRC also plans to

conduct only baseline inspections at those plants through March 31, 2004. During the last

assessment period, the NRC conducted a supplemental inspection at Salem Unit 1 in response to

a “white” performance indicator – a measure of performance which can lead to increased

oversight by the agency. That performance indicator pertained to the number of unplanned

power changes at the plant. The inspection, which reviewed PSEG’s evaluations in this area,

determined that corrective actions were appropriate.

 Also, as at the Hope Creek plant, the NRC plans to closely monitor performance at the

Salem plants in the area of problem identification and resolution during the current assessment

period. Because the same corrective action program is concurrently implemented at all three

plants, improvements will need to be implemented site-wide.

 With regard to plant security, both letters note: “As you are aware, since the terrorist

attacks of September 11, 2001, the NRC has issued several Orders and threat advisories to

enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness. We have conducted inspections

to review your implementation of these requirements and have monitored your actions in

response to changing threat conditions. For calendar year 2003, we plan to continue these

inspections, conduct portions of the security baseline inspection program, as well as performance

additional inspections to evaluate your compliance with new requirements that may be ordered.”

 Current performance information for Hope Creek is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/HOPE/hope_chart.html

 Current performance information for Salem Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SALM1/salm1_chart.html

 Current performance information for Salem Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SALM2/salm2_chart.html

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