NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 2443 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

No. III-07-006 March 23, 2007

CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

FOR POINT BEACH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Nuclear

Management Co. on Wednesday, March 28, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance

for last year at the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located near Two Rivers, Wisc.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Two

Creeks Town Hall, 5128 E. Tapawingo Rd. (Intersection of Highway 42 and Tapawingo Road), north

of Two Rivers. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment and be available to respond to

questions or comments from the public before the close of the meeting. 

“The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Point Beach plant and the nation’s other

commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. “This

meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss 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 III 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/poin_2006q4.pdf .

The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Point Beach plant operated safely during the period. 

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant

performance. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,”

commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. 

The Point Beach plant was placed under heightened regulatory scrutiny in 2003 as a result of

earlier equipment problems. In December of last year, the agency determined that the plant had taken

sufficient corrective actions to allow its return to routine agency oversight.

All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Point Beach during 2006 were

determined to be “green.” As a result of the 2006 performance and the termination of the heightened

oversight, the NRC will conduct the normal, baseline level of inspections during the upcoming year.

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

by inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in
Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are

fire protection, emergency preparedness, maintenance, and equipment testing and inspection.

Current performance information for Point Beach is available on the NRC’s web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN1/poin1_chart.html for Unit 1 and 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN2/poin2_chart.html for Unit 2.

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