NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 Office of Public Affairs, Region I

 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406

 www.nrc.gov

No. I-04-014 March 23, 2004

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 Email: opa1@nrc.gov

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC TO DISCUSS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

OF CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Constellation

Generation Group, LLC, on Tuesday, March 30, to discuss the results of the agency’s annual

assessment of safety performance at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant. The twin-reactor

facility, which is owned and operated by Constellation Generation, is located in Lusby, Md.

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

1 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express, 355 Merrimac Court in Price Frederick, Md. Before the

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

plant’s safety performance, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe operation of the

facility.

 The performance period to be discussed is January 1 to December 31, 2003. In

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

works.

 A letter sent from the NRC Region I Office to plant officials addresses the performance

of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is

available on the NRC web site at:

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/calv_2003q4.pdf .

 Overall, the Calvert Cliffs plant operated safely and met all cornerstone objectives

during the period. (Cornerstones are measures of plant performance.) Therefore, at this time the

NRC plans to conduct only baseline inspections at the site through September 30, 2005.

 The plant did have two “white” inspection findings, or findings of low to moderate

safety significance, during the first three quarters of the assessment period. The findings were

common to both units at the site. One of the findings was associated with the improper

preparation of a package of radioactive materials for shipment. The second one involved the

inability to actuate the off-site alert and notification system in a timely manner. Through
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supplemental inspections conducted in December 2002 and January 2003, the NRC was able to

determine that the corrective actions taken by Constellation Generation to resolve the issues and

prevent a recurrence were satisfactory.

 With regard to security issues, the letter points out that the NRC has issued several

orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness

since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The agency has also conducted inspections to

review the implementation of these requirements and has monitored the action of plant operators

in response to changing threat conditions. “For calendar year 2004, we plan to continue

inspections of order implementation combined with newly developed portions of the security

baseline inspection program,” the letter states.

 Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 is available on the NRC web

site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV1/calv1_chart.html .

 Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 is available on the NRC web

site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV2/calv2_chart.html .

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