NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE ON MAY 4 IN SHIPPINGPORT, PA. TO DISCUSS 

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR BEAVER VALLEY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct an open house on Tuesday, May 4 

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

power plant during 2009. 

The open house will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Shippingport Community and 

Municipal Building, at 164 State Road 3016 in Shippingport. Members of the public will have an 

opportunity to learn first-hand from NRC staff members about performance at the plant during 

2009, as well as about NRC oversight of the facility. The meeting format being used will allow 

citizens to discuss plant-related topics on a one-on-one basis with NRC inspectors assigned to the 

plant and their NRC Region I supervisor. 

Beaver Valley, which is the site of two pressurized-water reactors, is located in 

Shippingport (Beaver County). It is owned and operated by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. 

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, Beaver Valley operated safely during 2009. At the conclusion of last year, 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, Beaver Valley 

will continue to receive the normal, very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants 

that are operating well. 

In 2009, the NRC devoted about 6,000 hours to inspection of the facility, including four 

major team inspections. 

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

No. I-10-024 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

April 28, 2010

Email: OPA1.RESOURCE@nrc.gov
“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.” 

In addition to issuing inspection reports, the agency issues performance reviews for each 

plant 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 Assessment letters 

every March, the NRC meets with the public in the vicinity of each plant to discuss the results. 

The meetings are in keeping with the agency’s commitment to transparency with regard to its 

activities. 

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

at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/bv_2009q4.pdf . The notice for 

the open house is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management 

System (ADAMS) under accession number ML100960041. 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 e-mail 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 Beaver Valley to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency 

preparedness, permanent plant modifications and radiation safety. An additional inspection will 

be performed to evaluate the follow-up on corrective actions for violations and deviations at the 

plant. 

Current performance information for Beaver Valley 1 is available on the NRC web site 

at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BV1/bv1_chart.html . Current 

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BV2/bv2_chart.html . 

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