No. I-10-023 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

April 21, 2010 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON APRIL 27 IN BERWICK, PA. TO 

DISCUSS ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF SUSQUEHANNA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, April 27 

regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the Susquehanna nuclear 

power plant during 2009. 

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Susquehanna Energy Information 

Center, at 634 Salem Blvd. in Berwick, Pa. Prior to the meeting’s conclusion, there will be an 

opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of the NRC staff regarding the plant’s 

performance, as well as the agency’s oversight of the facility. From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the same 

location, NRC staff will hold an information session, during which they will be available to 

answer questions from and conduct discussions with attendees in a less formal setting. 

Susquehanna, which is the site of two boiling-water reactors, is located in Salem 

Township (Luzerne County), Pa. The plant is owned and operated by PPL. 

The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance 

indicators to gauge plant performance. The colors start with “green,” representing very low 

safety significance, and increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the 

significance of the issues involved. 

Overall, Susquehanna operated safely during 2009. 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 remainder of 2010, Susquehanna will continue to receive the very detailed 

inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating well. 

On Jan. 28, 2009, the NRC issued a potential “chilling effect” letter to PPL regarding 

possible worker concerns about the site’s “safety conscious work environment,” which refers to 

an environment in which plant employees feel free to raise safety concerns without fear of 

reprisal. During 2009, the NRC reviewed PPL’s action plans and root-cause evaluations aimed at 

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addressing safety conscious work environment issues at the plant. The NRC assessments 

included targeted inspections and trend reviews, as well as reviews of an independent safety 

culture survey performed for PPL at Susquehanna. Further, NRC management conducted several 

site visits and held a public meeting at the facility on July 6, 2009 to discuss the issues. 

Among the actions taken by PPL to improve the plant’s safety conscious work 

environment are organizational changes, improved communications to the workforce, additional 

training for supervisors and managers, work policy revisions and the development of additional 

means for workers to raise issues. Based on direct inspection, allegation trend data, metrics and 

survey results, the NRC determined that PPL made reasonable progress in addressing safety 

conscious work environment issues at Susquehanna during 2009. Specifically, the NRC 

determined the company recognized the issue impacted multiple areas of site performance; took 

appropriate and timely actions; and completed a range of corrective actions. The NRC’s 

assessment of the activities has found them to be appropriate to address the underlying issues to 

date. However, the NRC plans to continue to monitor PPL’s activities to address issues in this 

area through focused inspections. 

In 2009, the NRC devoted approximately 6,556 hours to inspection of the Susquehanna 

facility, including two major team inspections. 

“Each year, the NRC steps back and assesses the performance of nuclear power plants in 

a systematic and detailed manner. We take these reviews very seriously and they help guide our 

oversight in the year ahead,” NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. “We also 

believe that providing the public with an opportunity to not only learn about these results firsthand but to communicate with us on our determinations is an integral part of the process and 

consistent with our commitment to openness and transparency.” 

 The agency issues its review of performance at specific plants twice a year. Inspection 

findings and performance indicators are also updated on the NRC’s web site, www.nrc.gov, each 

quarter. Following the release of the annual performance reviews every March, the public is 

provided with an opportunity to discuss the results. The meetings, which are held in the vicinity 

of each plant, are in keeping with the agency’s commitment to transparency with regard to its 

activities. 

The annual assessment letter for the Susquehanna plant is available on the NRC web site 

at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/susq_2009q4.pdf. The notice 

for the annual assessment meeting for the plant is available in the NRC’s Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML100690255. 

ADAMS is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in 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.Resources@NRC.GOV. 

Routine inspections are carried out by 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 at Susquehanna to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are radiation safety, 

emergency preparedness and the dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel. 
Current performance information for Susquehanna 1 is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SUSQ1/susq1_chart.html. Current 

performance information for Susquehanna 2 is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SUSQ2/susq2_chart.html. 

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