No. I-08-031 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

May 8, 2008

NRC TO DISCUSS OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR PLANT ANNUAL ASSESSMENT 

AT PUBLIC MEETING SET FOR MAY 15 IN TOMS RIVER, N.J. 

The results of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual safety performance 

assessment for the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant will be the subject of a public meeting on 

Thursday, May 15. Oyster Creek, a boiling-water reactor, is located in Lacey Township (Ocean 

County), N.J., and operated by AmerGen Energy Co., LLC. 

At 7 p.m., NRC staff will meet with representatives of AmerGen to discuss the 

assessment, which covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2007, and was documented in a 

March 3rd letter to the company. The meeting will take place at the Oyster Creek Emergency 

Operating Facility, at 1268 Route 37 West in Toms River, N.J. The NRC staff will also conduct 

an informational poster-board session for interested members of the public in conjunction with 

the meeting. That session will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the same location. 

Prior to the conclusion of the meeting, NRC staff will be available to answer questions 

from the public on the plant’s performance during 2007, as well as the agency’s oversight of the 

facility. 

“Through a combination of inspection findings and performance indicators, we are able 

to develop a comprehensive picture of how nuclear power plants are performing with regard to 

safety,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins. “As part of our commitment to 

make the findings of our reviews accessible to the public, we hold meetings near each plant once 

a year to share the details of those assessments. We look forward to the opportunity on May 15th 

to present that information for the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant.” 

The annual assessment letter for Oyster Creek is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/oc_2007q4.pdf . The notice for the 

meeting, with agenda attached, is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML081160259. The slides for the 

meeting can be found under accession number ML081060600. ADAMS is accessible at: 

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
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html . Help in using ADAMS is available via 

the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at 

PDR@NRC.GOV . 

Overall, Oyster Creek operated safely during 2007. When considering nuclear power 

plant performance, the NRC uses color-coded performance indicators and inspection findings. 

The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate 

with the safety significance of the issues involved. 

At the conclusion of last year, there were no performance indicators for Oyster Creek that 

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

the plant will receive the baseline, or routine, level of inspections for the remainder of 2008. 

 

Oyster Creek did have a single “white” (low to moderate safety significance) inspection 

finding open during the first two quarters of 2007. That finding involved Oyster Creek staff not 

recognizing that plant parameters met emergency action level thresholds during an event in 

August 2005. In response to the finding, the NRC conducted a supplemental inspection at the 

facility in May 2006 to assess whether the necessary steps had been taken by AmerGen to 

address the underlying causes and prevent a recurrence. Because the NRC was not satisfied with 

the progress of the company’s corrective actions at that point, another supplemental inspection 

was deemed necessary. That second supplemental inspection was carried out in July 2007. Based 

on the results of that review, the NRC determined the actions were appropriate and, 

consequently, the finding was closed out. 

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 Oyster Creek to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are activities 

associated with radiological safety, fire protection, problem identification and resolution, and 

emergency preparedness. In addition, the NRC will conduct inspections related to the plant’s dry 

cask storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. 

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/OC/oc_chart.html . 

 

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