NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 Office of Public Affairs, Region I

 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa.

www.nrc.gov

 

No. I-06-014 March 21, 2006

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

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC TO DISCUSS 2005 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

FOR BEAVER VALLEY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of FirstEnergy Nuclear

Operating Co. on Tuesday, March 28, 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, 2005.

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.

“As we do every year, we have carefully reviewed the safety performance of the Beaver Valley

nuclear power plant during the previous calendar year,” NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins

said. “The meeting on March 28th will afford the public a chance to learn more about the results of our

assessment and to pose any questions they might have regarding plant performance or our oversight

activities.”

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_2005q4.pdf . The

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

System (ADAMS) under accession number ML060680441. 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 color-coded

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 2005 were determined to be “green,” Beaver Valley will receive a baseline (or

routine) 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 the replacement of the Unit 1 steam generators and reactor vessel head, radiological

safety, emergency preparedness and fire protection.

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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