NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE APRIL 6 IN PRINCE FREDERICK, MD., TO DISCUSS 

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct an open house on Tuesday, April 6 

regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the Calvert Cliffs nuclear 

power plant during 2009. 

The open house will run from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express, at 355 Merrimac Court 

in Prince Frederick, Md. 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. 

Calvert Cliffs, which is the site of two pressurized-water reactors, is located in Lusby 

(Calvert County), Md. It is owned and operated by Constellation Energy. 

Overall, Calvert Cliffs operated safely during 2009. At the conclusion of last year, as 

assessed by the NRC Reactor Oversight Process, a “white” (low to moderate safety significance) 

inspection finding was open for both Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2. The finding involved an incorrect 

Emergency Action Level decision-making table. It resulted in the units being placed in the 

“Regulatory Response” column of the NRC’s Action Matrix and receiving additional oversight 

from the agency. 

On Dec. 4, 2009, the NRC completed a supplemental inspection at the plant to determine 

whether Constellation had performed a thorough root-cause evaluation of the “white” inspection 

finding and put in place satisfactory corrective actions. In a report summarizing the results of that 

inspection issued on Jan. 15, the NRC determined the company had taken appropriate steps to 

address the issue and therefore closed out the finding. As such, this finding has been removed from 

consideration in the performance assessment process as of the first quarter of 2010, and the plant 

will receive the NRC’s normal, very detailed oversight regime for the rest of the year. 

In 2009, the NRC devoted 6,500 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 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. I-10-013 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

March 31, 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 first-hand 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. In addition to issuing inspection reports, the agency puts 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 reports 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 Calvert Cliffs plant is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/calv_2009q4.pdf. The notice for the 

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

(ADAMS) under accession number ML100780100. 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 Calvert Cliffs to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are the dry cask storage of spent 

nuclear fuel, radiation safety, fire protection and operator licensing initial exams. 

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV1/calv1_chart.html. Current performance 

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV2/calv2_chart.html.

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