No. III-08-011 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 April 3, 2008 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov

NRC TO DISCUSS 2007 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 

FOR FERMI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT UNIT 2

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Detroit 

Edison Co. Wednesday, April 9, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for 

last year at the Fermi Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located in Newport, Mich. 

 The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. EDT at 

Monroe County Board of Commissioners’ Chambers, County Courthouse, 125 E. Second St., 

Monroe. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment, talk about the NRC and its 

range of activities, 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 Fermi plant and the nation’s other 

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

meeting allows us to discuss our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and 

with local officials and area residents. Our goal is to explain how the NRC works and make sure 

as much information as possible is available on 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://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/ferm_2007q4.pdf

 The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Fermi 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. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III 

2443 Warrenville Road 

Lisle IL 60532 
 All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Fermi during 2007 were 

determined to be “green.” As a result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal, 

baseline level of inspections during the upcoming year. 

 The NRC letter to the utility identified a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of 

human performance. The issue is referred to as “cross-cutting” because it affects multiple areas 

of plant performance. The letter discussed 14 inspection findings whose root causes were 

associated with the cross-cutting issue of human performance. 

 

 Five of these findings were associated with deficiencies in plant procedures. Five 

additional findings were associated with the plant employees’ failures to adhere to existing plant 

procedures. 

 

 The NRC’s letter to the utility expressed concern with the plants ability to follow work 

instructions and follow established procedures. 

 The letter also recognized the plants recent corrective actions to address the cross cutting 

issue in the area of human performance. However more time is required to evaluate the 

effectiveness of the plants efforts. The NRC will continue to monitor the plants implementation 

of the proposed corrective actions. 

 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 emergency preparedness, radiation protection, and reactor system operations. 

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/FERM2/ferm2_chart.html. 

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