No. I-08-054 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

September 26, 2008

NRC ISSUES REPORT ON VERMONT YANKEE ENGINEERING INSPECTION 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a report containing the results of a 

comprehensive engineering review conducted this summer at the Vermont Yankee nuclear 

power plant. Known as a Component Design Bases Inspection (CDBI), the review was carried 

out by a team of five NRC inspectors and three contractors. It involved three weeks of on-site 

assessments performed from July 21 to Aug. 14, 2008, at the Vernon, Vt., facility and entailed 

more than 700 hours of direct inspection activity. 

Three “green,” or very low safety significance, inspection findings have been identified. 

All three have been classified as non-cited violations. As a result, the plant’s owner, Entergy, 

will be required to enter them into the corrective action program for Vermont Yankee and 

complete a more comprehensive assessment of the issues. The corrective actions will be subject 

to review during future NRC inspections. 

“Component Design Bases Inspections are an important part of our regulatory toolkit,” 

NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. “We use these inspections, in tandem with 

our numerous other reviews, to gain insights into whether the way a plant is operated is 

consistent with the way it was designed. In this instance, we did not find any problems that rose 

above the level of very low safety significance.” 

The inspection findings are as follows: An issue involving the proper evaluation and 

documentation of test results for plant back-up power batteries, although actual battery capacity 

was found to be sufficient; an issue pertaining to a procedure deficiency that resulted in an 

incorrect assumption being used in the analysis dealing with the loss of all A.C. power for the 

plant, also known as a “station blackout” condition; and an issue involving the testing of plant 

emergency diesel generators at the maximum manual load (above emergency levels), although it 

was determined that the emergency diesel generators would be available in the event of a loss of 

off-site power. None of these issues would have resulted in safety equipment being unable to 

perform the intended function if needed. 

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
All told, the CDBI team performed a detailed review of 23 plant components, four risksignificant actions by plant operators and three operating experience items. 

 

CDBIs are part of the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process. They are carried out by the 

NRC about once every 3 years at each operating nuclear power plant in the U.S. In the case of 

the Vermont Yankee review, the Vermont Department of Public Service (DPS) observed the 

inspection, as well as a week of pre-inspection preparations. In addition, the NRC coordinated 

with the DPS on which components, actions and issues would be evaluated during the CDBI. 

A copy of the report will be available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML082700860. ADAMS is accessible 

via the agency’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html . Help in using 

ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 

301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR@NRC.GOV . 

Separately, the NRC is continuing to review a license renewal application for Vermont 

Yankee. That application seeks a 20-year license extension for the plant, whose current 40-year 

operating license is set to expire on March 21, 2012. 

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