No. II-10-035 April 26, 2010 

CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

 Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 

NRC SCHEDULES OPEN HOUSETO DISCUSS 2009 PERFORMANCE 

OF TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled an open house for 

Thursday, May 6, and will be available to discuss and answer questions about the agency’s 

assessment of safety performance during 2009 at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant. The 

plant, operated by Florida Power and Light Co., is located about 25 miles south of Miami near 

Homestead, Fla. 

The open house is informal and scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in the City Council 

Chambers Room at Homestead City Hall, located at 790 North Homestead Blvd., Homestead, 

Fla. During the open house, NRC staff will be available to answer questions on the safety 

performance of the Turkey Point plant last year, as well as the NRC’s role in ensuring safe plant 

operation. 

“Every year, the NRC evaluates the safety performance of nuclear plants in a systematic 

and detailed way,” NRC Region II Administrator Luis Reyes said. “These reviews allow us to 

respond to ongoing issues, if needed, and to plan our future inspections. This open house gives 

local officials and citizens near the Turkey Point plant an opportunity to learn more about our 

oversight and is consistent with our commitment to openness and transparency.” 

A letter sent from the NRC Region II office to plant officials addresses the performance 

of the plant during 2009 and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on 

the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/tp_2009q4.pdf. 

The NRC found that the Turkey Point plant’s 2009 performance met all of the agency’s 

safety objectives and was at a level that results in no additional NRC oversight. This year, the 

NRC plans to continue to conduct the very detailed inspections required at those plants that are 

operating well. In addition, the agency will complete some generic inspections at Turkey Point 

related to operator licensing examinations, managing gas accumulation in emergency core 

cooling, decay heat removal and the containment spray system. 

The significance of apparent violations related to the partial degradation of a neutronabsorber material in the plant’s spent fuel storage system is still under review and may affect the 

NRC’s assessment of Turkey Point’s performance. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region II 

245 Peachtree Center Ave. NE, Suite 1200 

Atlanta, GA 30303-1257 

Web Site: www.nrc.gov
The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess plant 

performance. The colors start with “green,” which has very low safety significance, to “white,” 

“yellow” or “red,” based on the significance of the issues. Inspection findings and performance 

indicators are updated on the NRC’s web site (www.nrc.gov) each quarter. 

 Current performance information for Turkey Point Unit 3 is available on the NRC web 

site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/TP3/tp3_chart.html. Current performance 

information for Unit 4 is at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/TP4/tp4_chart.html. 

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