United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs, Region I

475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19401

Phone: 610/337-5330 Fax: 610/337-5241

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

I-96-38

Contact: Diane Screnci FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Victor Dricks June 14, 1996

SEABROOK PLANT RATED "SUPERIOR" IN THREE CATEGORIES,

"GOOD" IN FOURTH IN NRC ASSESSMENT REPORT

The Seabrook Nuclear Power Station received performance

ratings of "superior" in plant operations, engineering and plant

support, and "good" in maintenance in the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission's latest systematic assessment of licensee performance

(SALP) of the facility.

The SALP report was sent June 13 to Northeast Utilities

Service Company (NU), which operates the plant near Portsmouth,

New Hampshire. It evaluates the plant's performance from January

8, 1995, through May 4 of this year.

NRC and NU officials will discuss the report during a

meeting set for 1 p.m. June 26, at the Science and Nature Center

at the site. The meeting will be open for public observation.

NRC officials will be available afterwards to speak with

reporters, state and local officials, and members of the public.

NRC systematic assessment reports rate licensees in four

functional areas - plant operations, maintenance, engineering and

plant support - and assign Category 1, 2 or 3 depending on

whether their performance in those areas was superior, good or

adequate. The report on Seabrook gives the plant a Category 1

rating in plant operations, engineering and plant support, and

Category 2 in maintenance. Performance improved in plant

operations from "good" to "superior" during the most recent

evaluation.

In a letter to the licensee, Region I Administrator Thomas

T. Martin said: "Overall, NRC observed safe and very effective

performance at Seabrook Station during the assessment period,

with a good focus on programmatic and performance improvement."

Mr. Martin added that NRC has not observed any impact on safe

operation at Seabrook Station from the permanent and temporary

resource allocations to other sites within Northeast Utilities

but he said NRC will continue to monitor Seabrook's performance.

Mr. Martin had these comments on Seabrook's performance in

the four rated categories:
PLANT OPERATIONS

"Operations management provided very effective oversight

with a primary emphasis on safety. Operations personnel

maintained a clear, safety-conscious questioning attitude.

Control room operations were well controlled with good

communications and effective oversight, which resulted in

excellent responses to plant transients and several automatic

system isolations. Nevertheless, there were several minor

performance-related examples of operations not being completely

effective in meeting programmatic and management expectations."

ENGINEERING

"Overall excellent performance continued in the engineering

area. Engineering demonstrated a strong safety perspective as

evidenced by thorough safety evaluations. Knowledgeable

engineering personnel, who were active in various nuclear

industry groups, were implementing well-developed engineering

programs and procedures. Plant design modifications were of high

quality. Engineering management demonstrated effective control

and prioritization of engineering work backlog. The engineering

organization performed comprehensive evaluations of emergent

operational issues. However, in some instances, engineering

resolutions of some longstanding problems were not timely or

fully effective."

PLANT SUPPORT

"Performance in the radiation protection area was a licensee

strength. Continued effective plant chemistry greatly helped in

maintaining a low radiological source term, which contributes

substantially to plant maintainability and routine operational

activities. Excellent performances in the radiological effluent

and environmental monitoring programs were again noted.

Performance in the emergency preparedness area continued to be

excellent. The security program was effectively carried out.

However, NRC found a number of weaknesses in fire protection

program implementation, and concluded that fire protection

performance, albeit adequate, is not consistent with other plant

support functions."

MAINTENANCE

"The Maintenance Department made significant improvements

during the assessment period through enthusiastic support of

self-assessment, problem identification, and problem resolution

processes. Strong management involvement fostered the

performance of maintenance activities in a safe and controlled

manner. Safety-related surveillance activities were carefully

controlled, coordinated, and implemented. Notwithstanding,

several programmatic weaknesses were evident during planning,

development, and implementation of on-line maintenance which
resulted in unnecessary challenges to plant operations."

#

SALP reports are available on the NRC's internet web site

(http://www.nrc.gov/OPA) and by e-mail subscription. To receive

SALP reports by e-mail as they are issued, send an e-mail to

listproc@nrc.gov with the following message: subscribe salp

yourfirstname yourlastname.