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-07-028 May 15, 2007

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

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 ASSESSMENT FOR CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR PLANT

AT PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR MAY 22

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual assessment of safety performance at the Calvert

Cliffs nuclear power plant, in Lusby (Calvert County), Md., will be the subject of a public meeting on

Tuesday, May 22.

NRC staff will meet with representatives of plant owner Constellation Energy Group, LLC, at

6:30 p.m. to discuss the assessment, which covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2006, and was

documented in a March 2nd letter to the company. The session will take place at the Holiday Inn

Express at 355 Merrimac Court, Prince Frederick, Md.

Before the meeting is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the

public on the performance of the twin-reactor Calvert Cliffs plant, as well as the role of the NRC in

providing oversight of plant safety.

“Each year we size up plant performance during the previous calendar year, with the

overarching goal of ensuring that facilities are achieving the levels of safety that are essential to

protecting the public and the environment,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins, who

noted the agency also conducts mid-year assessments of performance. “At the May 22nd meeting,

NRC staff will talk to members of the public about how we go about evaluating Calvert Cliffs and

other nuclear power plants across the nation and will also answer questions from the audience.”

Overall, the Calvert Cliffs plant operated safely during 2006. The NRC utilizes 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. At the conclusion of last year, all of the performance indicators for

Calvert Cliffs were determined to be “green.” With one exception, there were no inspection findings

for the plant that were identified as greater than “green” at that time.

There was a “white” inspection finding of low to moderate safety significance for Calvert Cliffs

Unit 1 that was finalized on Oct. 27, 2006, and that remains open. That finding involved an incorrect

circuit-breaker setting that impacted the operability of one of two emergency diesel generators. In the
event of the loss of off-site power for the plant, emergency diesel generators would be used to provide

back-up power. The NRC, in response to the finding, performed a supplemental inspection in January

2007 to determine if the problem had been properly addressed. Based on the positive results of that

review, the finding will be closed out after the second quarter of 2007.

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

performance to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are activities associated with radiological

safety, fire protection, emergency planning, and problem identification and resolution.

The annual assessment letter for Calvert Cliffs is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/calv_2006q4.pdf. The slides for the

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

(ADAMS) under accession number ML071270042. ADAMS is accessible at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using ADAMS is available via 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 Calvert Cliffs 1 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV1/calv1_chart.html.

Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs 2 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV2/calv2_chart.html.

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