No. I-10-025 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

May 18, 2010 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE ON MAY 25th TO DISCUSS 

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR LIMERICK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold an open house on Tuesday, May 25 

regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the Limerick nuclear power 

plant during 2009. 

The open house will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Limerick Township Municipal 

Building, at 646 W. Ridge Pike in Limerick, 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 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. 

Limerick, which is the site of a pair of boiling-water reactors, is located in Limerick 

Township (Montgomery County). It is owned and operated by Exelon Generation Co., LLC. 

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, Limerick 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, Limerick 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 5,150 hours to inspection of the facility, including two 

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.” 

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 plant management and the public in the vicinity of each 

facility 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 Limerick plant is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/lim_2009q4.pdf. The notice for the 

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

(ADAMS) under accession number ML100680093. 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 Limerick to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are the dry cask storage of 

spent nuclear fuel; fire protection; radiation safety; and emergency preparedness. The NRC will 

also review Exelon’s implementation of corrective actions for violations and deviations 

regarding issues associated with a reactor building crane. 

Current performance information for Limerick 1 is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LIM1/lim1_chart.html. Current performance 

information for Limerick 2 is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LIM2/lim2_chart.html. 

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