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-05-020 April 14, 2005

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

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC TO DISCUSS 2004 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

FOR R.E. GINNA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Constellation

Generation Group, LLC, on Thursday, April 21, to discuss the agency’s annual assessment of safety

performance at the R.E. Ginna nuclear power plant. The period of performance to be discussed is

January 1 to December 31, 2004.

 Constellation operates the plant, which is located in Ontario, N.Y.

 The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 2

p.m. at the Ontario Golf Club, 2101 Country Club Lane in Ontario. 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 Ginna 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.”

 Overall, the Ginna 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 Ginna during 2004 were determined to be “green,” the plant 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 maintenance effectiveness, radiological safety and safety system design and performance

capability.
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 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/ginn_2004q4.pdf . The

notice and slides for the meeting are available in the NRC’s Agency wide Documents Access and

Management System (ADAMS) under accession numbers ML050680235 and ML050810007,

respectively. ADAMS is accessible via the agency’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/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 .

 Current performance information for the Ginna plant is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/GINN/ginn_chart.html .

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