No. I-08-017 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

April 1, 2008

NRC TO DISCUSS CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR PLANT ANNUAL ASSESSMENT 

AT PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 8 IN PRINCE FREDERICK, MD. 

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

assessment for the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant will be discussed at a public meeting on 

Tuesday, April 8. The session is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Constellation Energy Joint 

Information Center, at 100 Skipjack Road in Prince Frederick, Md. 

Calvert Cliffs is a twin-reactor plant located in Lusby (Calvert County), Md., and 

operated by Constellation Energy, LLC. 

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

from the public on the plant’s performance, 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 April 8th

to present that information for the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant.” 

The annual assessment letter for Calvert Cliffs is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/calv_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 ML080720471. The slides for the 

meeting are available under accession number ML080790171. ADAMS is accessible at: 

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, the Calvert Cliffs plant operated safely during 2007. When considering nuclear 

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

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
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 Calvert Cliffs 

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. 

Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 did have a “white” (low to moderate safety significance) inspection 

finding during the first two quarters of 2007. That finding involved an incorrect circuit-breaker 

setting that impacted the operability of one of the plant’s emergency diesel generators, which are 

used to provide back-up power in the event that off-site power is lost. The NRC completed a 

supplemental inspection in January 2007 to determine if Constellation had appropriately 

addressed the problem’s underlying causes and taken steps to prevent a recurrence. The 

inspection found that was the case and therefore the finding was closed as of July 1, 2007. 

Routine 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 Calvert Cliffs to be inspected this year by NRC specialists 

are activities associated with the dry cask storage of spent fuel, radiological safety, containment 

building sump modifications and emergency preparedness. 

Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 is available on the NRC web 

site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV1/calv1_chart.html . Current 

performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV2/calv2_chart.html . 

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