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-07-020 May 17, 2007

CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

FOR BRAIDWOOD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Exelon Generation

Co. on Tuesday, May 22, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for last year at the

Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located near Braidwood, Ill.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the ReedCuster High School Auditorium, 249 Comet Dr., in Braidwood. 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 Braidwood plant and the nation’s other

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

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: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/brai_2006q4.pdf .

The NRC’s assessment concluded that, overall, the Braidwood 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. 

There was one “white” finding of low-to-moderate significance in the area of public radiation

safety. The finding was due to the utility’s multiple failures to properly evaluate the radiological

impacts of unplanned releases from a pipe which goes from the Braidwood Plant to the Kankakee

River. However, it was not based on the radiological impact to public health. The NRC estimated the

doses from the contamination to be a small fraction of the NRC’s limit for doses to members of the

public.

The NRC conducted multiple inspections to characterize and evaluate the tritium contamination

on plant property and in the public domain when the contamination was discovered. 
In early 2007, the NRC conducted an extensive follow-up inspection to make sure that the

utility understood the causes of the issue; identified the extent of the problem; and took appropriate

corrective actions to prevent the issue from recurring. NRC inspectors found the utility’s efforts in all

these areas satisfactory. The inspection report can be accessed through the NRC’s electronic document

system at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html; enter “ML070660063” as a search

term.

During 2007, the NRC plans to conduct routine baseline inspections at the Braidwood Station.

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

problem identification and resolution; radiological environmental monitoring program and radioactive

material control; access control to radiologically significant areas; and processing and transportation of

radioactive material.

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BRAI1/brai1_chart.html and 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BRAI2/brai2_chart.html.

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