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-06-020 April 10, 2006

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

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC TO DISCUSS 2005 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

FOR PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Entergy Nuclear

Operations, Inc., on Tuesday, April 18, to discuss the agency’s annual assessment of safety

performance at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant. The period of performance to be discussed is Jan. 1 to

Dec. 31, 2005.

Entergy operates the plant, located in Plymouth, Mass.

The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at

the John Carver Inn, 25 Summer St. in Plymouth. (Directions are available on the inn’s web site at:

http://www.johncarverinn.com/directions.php .) 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 session.

“As we do every year, we have carefully reviewed the safety performance of the Pilgrim nuclear

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

“The meeting on April 18th 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/pilg_2005q4.pdf . The

meeting notice, with the meeting agenda attached, is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents

Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML060940370. The NRC slides

for the meeting are available in ADAMS under accession number ML060940408. 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 Pilgrim 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,” Pilgrim 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. Among the areas of plant

operations to be inspected during the next year by NRC specialists are radiological safety, fire

protection and emergency planning.

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PILG/pilg_chart.html .

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