NRC NEWS

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II

61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303

Web Site: www.nrc.gov

No. II-07-010 April 5, 2007

CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

Roger Hannah (404)562-4417

NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 PERFORMANCE AT VOGTLE NUCLEAR PLANT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is scheduled to meet with Southern Nuclear

Operating Company officials on Wednesday, April 11, to discuss the NRC’s annual assessment of

safety performance for 2006 at the Vogtle nuclear power plant, located near Waynesboro, Ga.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. in the Burke

County Commission Meeting Room in the Burke County Courthouse in Waynesboro. 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 Vogtle plant and the nation’s other

commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region II Administrator William Travers said. “This

meeting is a chance for us to discuss that safety performance with the company, with local officials and

with people living near the plant.”

A letter sent from the NRC Region II 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 www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/vog_2006q4.pdf .

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,”

depending on the safety significance of the issues involved. 

The NRC said the Vogtle plant operated safely during 2006, but performance during the most

recent quarter was in the NRC’s regulatory response column based on a “white” inspection finding in

emergency preparedness and the Unit 2 Mitigating Systems Performance Indicator for Cooling Water

crossing the white threshold during the third quarter of 2006. Both issues are of low to moderate safety

significance and the NRC will conduct supplemental inspections in those areas this year.

In addition to those inspections and the NRC’s routine baseline inspections, NRC inspectors

will also be looking at the reactor vessel head and head penetrations, Unit 2 containment emergency

sump modifications and license renewal activities. The NRC staff will also conduct initial reactor

operator licensing exams at the Vogtle plant this year. 
Routine inspections are performed by NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by

specialists from the Region II Office in Atlanta, and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md. 

Current information for the Vogtle plant is available on the NRC web site at:

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/VOG1/vog1_chart.html and

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/VOG2/vog2_chart.html .

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