No. III-10-021 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 May 24, 2010 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov

 

NRC TO DISCUSS 2009 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 

OF BRAIDWOOD NUCLEAR PLANT JUNE 3

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Exelon 

Generation Company, LLC, on Thursday, June 3, to discuss the agency’s assessment of last year’s 

safety performance at the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant. The plant has two reactor units in 

Braceville, Ill., 20 miles southwest of Joliet. 

 The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CDT at the 

Fossil Ridge Public Library District meeting room, 386 W. Kennedy Rd., in Braidwood. The NRC 

staff will present the results of the assessment, talk about the NRC, and its range of activities, 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 Braidwood plant and the nation’s other 

commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region III Administrator Mark Satorius said. “This 

meeting allows us to discuss our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and area 

residents. One of NRC’s main goals is to explain to people in the community how the agency 

regulates nuclear power plants to protect people and the environment.” 

 A letter sent from the NRC Region III 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: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/brai_2009q4.pdf. 

 The NRC’s assessment concluded Braidwood operated safely during the period. The agency 

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,” commensurate with the 

safety significance of the issues involved. 

NRC inspectors identified one “white” finding of low to moderate safety significance in 2009 

for Braidwood Unit 1. This finding involved the failure of the containment sump suction isolation 

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valve to fully open due to deficiencies in valve design. The valve is not required for routine plant 

operations, but would be used in certain accident conditions. If it failed to operate during an accident, 

other safety equipment would fulfill its safety function. The NRC will conduct a supplemental 

inspection to make sure the problems associated with the finding have been understood and resolved. 

 Braidwood Unit 2 performed at a level that requires no additional oversight from the NRC.

 The NRC letter also addressed a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of human 

performance. Cross-cutting issues “cut across” multiple areas of plant operation. Examples of crosscutting issues include problems associated with the plant staff’s ability to identify and correct 

problems, to develop effective procedures and adhere to these procedures. Cross-cutting issues 

cannot be quantified and are not assigned safety significance. However, they serve as early indicators 

of potential performance deficiencies. In Braidwood’s case, the cross-cutting issue involves a failure 

to make conservative assumptions and demonstrate a proposed action is safe. The plant has 

developed a plan to address this issue but these actions have not yet been effective. When a 

substantive cross-cutting issue is identified at a nuclear power plant, the NRC expects the problem to 

be corrected. 

 The NRC also plans to conduct an inspection of the independent spent fuel storage facility the 

utility plans to open at Braidwood. It will focus on preoperational testing of installation plans and 

activities and the review of the operating plan. 

 Braidwood will continue to receive the detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for all 

nuclear plants. In addition, a supplemental inspection will be conducted of the independent spent fuel 

storage facility. Inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and 

by specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md. 

Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency 

preparedness and radiation monitoring. 

 Current performance information for Braidwood is available on the NRC’s web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BRAI1/brai1_chart.html (Unit 1) and 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BRAI2/brai2_chart.html (Unit 2).

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