NRC NEWS

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II

61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303

Web Site: www.nrc.gov

No. II-07-016 April 11, 2007

CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

Roger Hannah (404)562-4417

NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 PERFORMANCE AT TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR PLANT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is scheduled to meet with Florida Power and Light

officials on Tuesday, April 17, to discuss the NRC’s annual assessment of safety performance for 2006

at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant, located south of Miami near Homestead, Fla.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. in the City Council

Chambers Room of the Homestead City Hall, 790 Homestead Boulevard. 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 Turkey Point plant and the nation’s other

commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region II Administrator William Travers said. “This

meeting is a chance for us to discuss that safety performance with the company, with local officials and

with people living near the plant.”

A letter sent from the NRC Region II 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/tp_2006q4.pdf .

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,”

depending on the safety significance of the issues involved. 

The NRC said the Turkey Point plant operated safely during 2006, but Unit 3 performance

during the third and fourth quarters was in the NRC’s regulatory response column based on a “white”

inspection finding related to decay heat removal. The NRC is conducting a followup inspection of that

issue.

Performance for Unit 4 was in the licensee response column during the fourth quarter, but plant

performance for both units was in the regulatory response column for the first three quarters due to a

“white” finding associated with a feedwater pump. An inspection in May 2006 assessed the

company’s corrective actions and resulted in no additional significant findings.

The NRC is also looking at the cross-cutting area of problem identification and resolution at the

Turkey Point plant with one inspection conducted in the fall of 2006 and another planned for May. 

FPL has taken corrective actions but because some have only recently been implemented, the NRC
staff considers this issue still open. In addition to those inspections and the NRC’s routine baseline

inspections, NRC inspectors will also be looking at containment sump blockage at the plant.

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

specialists from the Region II Office in Atlanta, and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md. 

Current information for the Turkey Point plant is available on the NRC web site at:

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/TP3/tp3_chart.html and

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/TP4/tp4_chart.html .

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