NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS -- REGION I

 475 Allendale Road

 King of Prussia, PA 19406

No. I-03-023 April 1, 2003

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

Neil A. Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

NRC TO DISCUSS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS

OF INDIAN POINT 2 AND 3 NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Entergy Nuclear

Operations, Inc., on Monday, April 7, to discuss the results of the agency’s annual assessment of safety

performance at the Indian Point 2 and 3 nuclear power plants. The plants are located in Buchanan,

N.Y., and operated by Entergy.

 The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

in the Vincent F. Nyberg General Meeting Room at Cortlandt Town Hall, 1 Heady St. in Cortlandt. 

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

safety performance of the Indian Point plants, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe plant

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

 Letters sent from the NRC Region I Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the

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

Indian Point 2 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/inpt_2002q4.pdf

The letter regarding Indian Point 3 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/inp3_2002q4.pdf

 The Indian Point 2 letter states that, overall, performance continued to improve at the plant

and margins of safety have been strengthened. “Entergy completed important upgrades to the security

program, some of which were mandated by the NRC’s February 2002 Order,” it states. “Management

has continued to focus station efforts on priority work and, as a result, progress has been made in

correcting important equipment problems, such as control room deficiencies.

 “However, additional work is needed to reduce overall maintenance and corrective action

backlogs, which remain relatively high,” the letter continues. “Continued efforts are also needed to

address human performance errors and plant design control legacy issues.”
 During the last quarter of the last assessment period, the plant was categorized as being a

“degraded cornerstone” plant under the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Program. (“Cornerstones” are

measures of performance used by the NRC.) Earlier in the assessment period, Indian Point 2 had been

categorized as a plant with “multiple degraded cornerstones.”

 The NRC notes that it has maintained heightened oversight of the plant for the past several

years. As progress continues, the agency intends to maintain a heightened level of oversight at Indian

Point 2 at least through the end of the current assessment period in December. The NRC will follow

up on Entergy’s efforts through focused inspections by the agency’s resident inspectors at the plant and

region-based specialists, as well as through periodic performance monitoring meetings. The agency

also plans to perform inspections targeted at security measures and enhancements for both Indian Point

2 and 3. Further, the NRC expects to work closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency,

the state, the counties and Entergy, as appropriate, to address off-site emergency planning and

preparedness issues.

 In the letter to Entergy regarding Indian Point 3, the NRC stated that, overall, the plant

“operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and fully met all cornerstone objectives.”

Therefore, the agency plans to conduct only baseline inspections for that unit through March 31, 2004.

 Current performance information for Indian Point 2 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/IP2/ip2_chart.html

 Current performance information for Indian Point 3 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/IP3/ip3_chart.html

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