NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC WORKSHOP ON GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION 

AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS APRIL 20 IN ROCKVILLE, MD. 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host a public workshop April 20 at the agency 

headquarters to hear from a variety of government, industry, academic and public experts about 

whether NRC policies on groundwater contamination at nuclear plants need modification. 

 “There has been substantial recent attention on radioactive water leaks at commercial 

nuclear plants,” said Chuck Casto, deputy regional administrator of the NRC’s Arlington, Texas, 

office, who is leading a task force to examine agency practices. “We want to know if external 

stakeholders think there are gaps in what we are doing and determine whether there are policy 

issues that should be brought to the Commission.” 

 Recent incidents at several nuclear plants involving groundwater contamination have 

prompted plant owners and the NRC to look at the sources of the contamination. While the 

actions in each case have successfully identified the sources and ensured that licensees correct 

the problem, they have prompted the NRC to examine the adequacy of the actions and the 

agency’s regulatory framework. Some actions are still under way. 

 Casto said the agency is evaluating whether the actions it has taken or plants have taken – 

both in response to these incidents and to recommendations made in the 2006 Liquid Radioactive 

Release Lessons Learned Task Force Final Report (ML062650312) – need to be augmented. He 

said the scope of the review will include, but not be limited to: industry experience and actions; 

health impacts; the regulatory framework; NRC inspection; enforcement and reporting; 

international perspectives; and communication with external stakeholders. 

The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. in the Commission Conference 

Room at the NRC headquarters at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. The meeting will be 

webcast and can be viewed at the time of the meeting at: http://video.nrc.gov/live/. 

 The meeting format will include a roundtable discussion by invited federal and state 

regulators, industry, academic and public interest experts in an open forum. Each roundtable 

participant will have the opportunity to make a short presentation in their area of expertise. That 

will be followed by a facilitated discussion among the roundtable participants. Other attendees 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 10-065 April 8, 2010
with questions or concerns, and responses to those questions and concerns, will follow the 

roundtable discussion at two points in the program, at the close of the morning session and again 

at the conclusion of the afternoon roundtable discussion. 

 On Monday, April 19, the NRC will hold another session on groundwater contamination 

in Brattleboro, Vt. This session is largely devoted to listening to residents in the area around the 

nearby Vermont Yankee plant and detailing for them the oversight provided by the NRC as plant 

owner Entergy tracked down and repaired a tritium leak. 

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