No. I-08-021 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

April 8, 2008

NRC TO DISCUSS ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR SUSQUEHANNA NUCLEAR PLANT 

AT PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 16 IN SALEM TOWNSHIP, PA. 

 

The results of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual safety performance 

assessment for the Susquehanna nuclear power plant will be discussed at a public meeting on 

Wednesday, April 16. The session is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Susquehanna Energy 

Information Center, at 634 Salem Blvd., Salem Township, Pa., about 7 miles northeast of 

Berwick, Pa. 

Susquehanna is a twin-reactor plant located in Salem Township (Luzerne County) and 

operated by PPL Susquehanna, LLC. 

Prior to the conclusion of the meeting, NRC staff will be available to answer questions 

from the public on the plant’s performance during 2007, as well as the agency’s oversight of the 

facility. 

“Through a combination of inspection findings and performance indicators, we are able 

to develop a comprehensive picture of how nuclear power plants are performing with regard to 

safety,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins. “As part of our commitment to 

make the findings of our reviews accessible to the public, we hold meetings near each plant once 

a year to share the details of those assessments. We look forward to the opportunity on April 16th

to present that information for the Susquehanna nuclear power plant.” 

The annual assessment letter for Susquehanna is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/susq_2007q4.pdf . The notice for 

the meeting, with agenda attached, is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access 

and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML080850867. ADAMS is 

accessible at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html . Help in using ADAMS is 

available via the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by email at PDR@NRC.GOV . 

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
Overall, the Susquehanna plant operated safely during 2007. When considering nuclear 

power plant performance, the NRC uses color-coded performance indicators and inspection 

findings. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” 

commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. 

At the conclusion of last year, there were no performance indicators for Susquehanna that 

were other than “green” and no inspection findings that were “greater than green.” Therefore, 

the plant will receive the baseline, or routine, level of inspections for the remainder of 2008. 

Susquehanna did have seven “green” (very low safety significance) inspection findings 

with documented cross-cutting aspects in the area of human performance during the assessment 

period. (Cross-cutting aspects are issues that span several different areas of performance.) In 

addition, the NRC identified a cross-cutting theme regarding supervisory and management 

oversight of work activities for five of the inspection findings. However, the NRC staff evaluated 

the company’s actions in response to those issues and determined them to be effective. As a 

result, Susquehanna currently does not have any open substantive cross-cutting issues. 

Routine inspections are carried out by the 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 of performance at Susquehanna to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are 

activities associated with radiological safety, fire protection and emergency preparedness. In 

addition, the NRC will conduct inspections related to activities associated with license renewal 

and with extended power uprates for both reactors. The NRC approved 13-percent power uprates 

for each reactor in January. 

 

Current performance information for Susquehanna Unit 1 is available on the NRC web 

site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SUSQ1/susq1_chart.html . Current 

performance information for Susquehanna Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SUSQ2/susq2_chart.html . 

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