No. III-09-010 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 April 21, 2009 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov

 

NRC TO DISCUSS 2008 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 

FOR KEWAUNEE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Dominion Energy 

Kewaunee Inc. Tuesday, April 28, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for last 

year at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located in Kewaunee, Wisc. 

 The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. CDT at the 

Kewaunee Municipal Building, Council Chamber Conference Room, 401 5th St., Kewaunee. 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 Kewaunee 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.” 

 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/kewa_2008q4.pdf. 

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

 In 2008, NRC inspectors identified one “white” finding of low to moderate safety 

significance. This finding involved the inability of effluent radiation monitors to accurately signal 

utility staff to declare an “Alert” if radiation release levels were rising. An Alert is the second lowest 

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of four levels of emergency classifications used by the NRC. The letter also states that this failure 

could have potentially delayed the ability of state and local officials to respond to an emergency. The 

plant has taken immediate corrective actions. The NRC plans on conducting a supplemental 

inspection to ensure the cause of the issue is understood and that the comprehensive corrective 

actions taken will prevent recurrence. 

 Kewaunee will continue to receive the detailed inspections regime used by the NRC for 

plants. 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., and the agency’s headquarters in 

Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are 

independent spent fuel storage, emergency preparedness and engineering modifications. 

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/KEWA/kewa_chart.html. 

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E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.