No. III-10-008 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 April 7, 2010 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov

 

NRC TO DISCUSS 2009 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 

FOR LASALLE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT UNIT 1 AND 2

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled an open house for Wednesday, 

April 14, to discuss with local residents NRC activities and nuclear power issues, and answer 

questions about the agency’s assessment of safety performance for last year at the LaSalle nuclear 

power plant. 

 The open house is informal and will begin at 5 p.m. CDT at the Brookfield Town Hall in 

Seneca, Ill. The two unit plant operated by Exelon Generation Co. is in Marseilles, roughly 80 

miles southwest of Chicago. 

 “The NRC continually reviews the performance of the LaSalle plant and the nation’s 

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

“This meeting allows us to discuss our annual assessment of safety performance with members 

of the local community. The goal of this meeting is to explain how the NRC works and make 

sure as much information as possible is available on the NRC’s regulation of nuclear power 

plants.” 

 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/lasa_2009q4.pdf. 

 The NRC 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. 

Overall, LaSalle Unit 1 and 2 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 rest of 2010, LaSalle will continue to receive the detailed inspection regime 

used by the NRC for plants that are operating well. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III 

2443 Warrenville Road 

Lisle IL 60532 
 Routine inspections are performed by two NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant 

and by inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill. Among the areas of plant 

operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency preparedness, the 

independent spent fuel storage installation and radiation safety. 

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LASA1/lasa1_chart.html (Unit 1) and 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LASA2/lasa2_chart.html (Unit 2). 

 

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