No. I-10-016 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

 April 7, 2010 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE ON APRIL 13 IN MIDDLETOWN, PA. TO DISCUSS 

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF THREE MILE ISLAND 1 NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct an open house on Tuesday, April 13 

regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the Three Mile Island 1 

nuclear power plant during 2009. 

The open house will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Londonderry Township Building, at 

748 South Geyers Church Road in Middletown, Pa. 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 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. 

Three Mile Island 1 is a pressurized-water reactor located in Middletown (Dauphin 

County). It is owned and operated by Exelon Nuclear. 

Overall, Three Mile Island 1 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 remainder of 2010, Three Mile Island 1 will continue to receive the very 

detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating well. 

The NRC staff continues to review an event at Three Mile Island 1 on Nov. 21, 2009, in 

which a number of workers experienced minor radioactive contamination during a refueling and 

maintenance outage at the plant. The levels of contamination were low and did not pose a health 

or safety concern for the affected workers, other employees or the public. The results of the NRC 

inspection of the event will made be public during the second quarter of 2010. 

In 2009, the NRC devoted 6,200 hours to inspection of the facility, including five major 

team inspections. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 

Site: http://www.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.” 

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, to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” commensurate with the significance of the 

issues involved. The agency issues its review of performance at specific plants 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 performance reviews every 

March, the public is provided with an opportunity to discuss the results. The meetings, which are 

held in the vicinity of each plant, are in keeping with the agency’s commitment to transparency 

with regard to its activities. 

The annual assessment letter for the Three Mile Island 1 plant is available on the NRC 

web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/tmi_2009q4.pdf. The 

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

Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML100810315. 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 Three Mile Island 1 to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency 

preparedness, permanent plant modifications, radiation monitoring and Exelon’s ability to 

identify and resolve problems at the plant. 

Current performance information for Three Mile Island 1 is available on the NRC web 

site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/TMI1/tmi1_chart.html. 

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