NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 Office of Public Affairs, Region I

 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa.

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA

No. I-05-015 March 23, 2005

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

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC TO DISCUSS 2004 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

FOR BEAVER VALLEY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of FirstEnergy Nuclear

Operating Company on Wednesday, March 30, to discuss the agency’s annual assessment of safety

performance at the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant. The period of performance to be discussed is

Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2004.

 FirstEnergy operates the twin-reactor plant, which is located in Shippingport, Pa.

 The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 1

p.m. in Room 103 of the plant’s Training Building, located on Shippingport Road across from the

Beaver Valley parking lot entrance. 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 agency’s role in

ensuring safe operation of the facility.

 “The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Beaver Valley plant and the nation’s

other commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. “This

meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance

with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our goal is to explain

the NRC oversight process and make as much information as possible available to the public regarding

our regulation of these facilities.”

 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: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/bv_2004q4.pdf . The

slides for the meeting are available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management

System (ADAMS) under accession number ML050750418. ADAMS is accessible via the agency’s

web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html . Help in using ADAMS is available by

contacting the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail at

PDR@nrc.gov .
 Overall, the Beaver Valley plant operated safely during the period. The NRC uses colorcoded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear power plant performance. The

colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the safety

significance of the issues involved. Because all of the inspection findings and performance indicators

for the plant during 2004 were determined to be “green,” Beaver Valley will receive a baseline level of

inspections during the upcoming assessment period.

 Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant

and by inspection specialists from the Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa., and the agency’s

headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC

specialists are radiological safety, permanent plant modifications and the planned replacement of the

Unit 1 steam generators and reactor vessel head.

 Current performance information for Beaver Valley Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site

at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BV1/bv1_chart.html .

 Current performance information for Beaver Valley Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site

at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BV2/bv2_chart.html .

 

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