No. I-07-062 

Contact: Diane Screnci 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan 610/337-5331 

November 28, 2007

 

NRC TO INCREASE OVERSIGHT AT PEACH BOTTOM NUCLEAR PLANT 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct additional inspections at the Peach 

Bottom Atomic Power Station in Delta, Pa., to independently verify and assess Exelon’s efforts 

to address security issues at the plant. The two-unit site is operated by Exelon Nuclear. 

 NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said, “Although Exelon’s performance 

has not yet crossed any specific thresholds mandating increased oversight, the staff considers it 

prudent to apply additional resources to the security program at Peach Bottom while we continue 

to monitor and assess Exelon’s performance.” 

 In late September, the NRC sent an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to Peach Bottom 

to look into assertions that security officers were inattentive while on duty at the plant. Through 

that inspection, the NRC confirmed there had been multiple occasions on which multiple security 

officers were inattentive. However, the NRC also determined that the plant’s security program 

was not significantly degraded as a result. 

 The NRC issued a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) on Oct. 19 to ensure continued 

security plan effectiveness. In the CAL, Exelon committed to take a number of additional steps 

to address the inattentiveness issue and to monitor the transition from a contract to an Exelon 

guard force. 

 A subsequent inspection was conducted earlier this month to assess the significance of 

AIT findings, evaluate Exelon’s root-cause analysis of the inattentiveness issues and determine 

whether corrective actions are sufficient to prevent recurrence. The results of that inspection will 

be discussed during a meeting between NRC officials and Exelon managers on Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. 

at the Peach Bottom Inn, at 6085 Delta Road in Delta. It will be open to the public for 

observation. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov
 Under the NRC's reactor oversight program, a plant's performance determines the level of 

inspection conducted at the site. To provide additional oversight, the agency can decide to 

deviate from the process and conduct further inspections, etc., when warranted by the given 

situation. Any such plans are proposed in a memo from the Regional Administrator for approval 

by the Executive Director for Operations. The memo, called a "deviation memo," was approved 

earlier today and provides a formal vehicle to document the NRC’s additional inspection plans to 

assess Exelon’s progress in transitioning to an in-house security organization, and to 

independently verify Exelon’s actions identified in the CAL and its root cause analysis. 

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