No. I-09-013 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

March 19, 2009 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

NRC TO HOLD MEETING ON MARCH 26 IN PLYMOUTH, MASS., TO DISCUSS 

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE FOR PILGRIM NUCLEAR PLANT 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct a public meeting on Thursday, March 

26, regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the Pilgrim nuclear 

power plant. 

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 4 Home Depot Drive in 

Plymouth, Mass. Prior to its conclusion, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from 

the public on the plant’s performance, as well as the agency’s oversight of the facility. In 

addition, an informational open house will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. at the same location. It will 

provide members of the public with an opportunity to discuss plant-related topics on a one-onone basis with NRC inspectors assigned to the facility and their NRC Region I supervisor. 

Pilgrim is a boiling-water reactor located in Plymouth. It is owned and operated by 

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. 

Overall, Pilgrim operated safely during 2008. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed 

by the NRC Reactor Oversight Process, there were no performance indicators for the plant that 

were other than “green” and no inspection findings that were “greater than green.” Therefore, 

for the rest of 2009 Pilgrim will receive the very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for 

plants that are operating well. In 2008, the NRC devoted approximately 5,300 hours of 

inspection to the Pilgrim facility. 

“In 2008, all but one of the 26 commercial power reactors in Region I, which covers the 

Northeastern United States, fully met our clearly defined performance criteria. Pilgrim was 

among those plants achieving those objectives. That means those plants will receive the normal 

level of NRC oversight this year if they continue meet the high safety benchmarks set out for 

each site,” NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins. “That said, our inspectors will remain 

on the lookout for any problems or adverse trends that might indicate a change in performance. 

As always, we will not hesitate to act should we identify any safety concerns.” 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov
The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance 

indicators to measure plant performance. The colors start with “green” and then increase to 

“white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. 

The agency issues reports on performance at specific plants twice a year: During the mid-cycle, 

or mid-point, of the year, and at the conclusion of the year. Inspection findings and performance 

indicators are also updated on the NRC’s web site, www.nrc.gov, every quarter. Following the 

release of the annual reports every March, the NRC meets with the public in the vicinity of each 

plant to discuss the results. The meetings are in keeping with the agency’s commitment to 

transparency with regard to its activities. 

The annual assessment for the Pilgrim plant is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/pilg_2008q4.pdf. The notice for 

the annual assessment meeting is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML090680785. ADAMS is available 

at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. Help is using ADAMS can be 

obtained via the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by email at PDR.Resource@NRC.GOV. 

Routine inspections are carried out by the two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the 

plant and by inspection specialists from the agency’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. 

Among the areas of performance at Pilgrim to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are 

activities associated with problem identification and resolution, radiological safety, emergency 

preparedness and fire protection. 

Current performance information for Pilgrim is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PILG/pilg_chart.html. 

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