NRC ISSUES MID-CYCLE ASSESSMENTS FOR NATION’S NUCLEAR PLANTS 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued mid-cycle assessment letters to the 

nation’s 104 operating commercial nuclear power plants. The agency’s most recent assessments 

show that all plants continue to operate safely. 

 “We ensure nuclear power plants are safe, inspecting them and rating their performance 

regularly, as part of our mission to protect people and the environment,” said Cynthia Pederson, 

acting deputy director for reactor safety programs in the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

 The mid-cycle assessment period concluded on June 30, with 97 of the 104 plants in the 

two highest performance categories. There are five levels of plant performance based on a 

detailed assessment of inspection findings and performance indicators (e.g. safety system 

availability and reliability, control of radiation exposure and unplanned shutdowns). Levels 

range from “meeting all safety cornerstone objectives” (highest level) to “unacceptable 

performance” (lowest level). 

 If a nuclear power plant’s performance declines, the NRC increases the level of 

inspection and oversight to ensure the plant operator is taking the steps necessary to correct the 

situation. The additional amount of inspection is commensurate with the level of plant 

performance. Additional information on the Reactor Oversight Process is available at : 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1649/r4/. 

 

 The latest round of assessments shows that 85 of the plants were performing at the 

highest level require normal NRC inspection and oversight. Twelve plants were performing at 

the next highest level, needing to resolve items of low to moderate safety significance and 

receive additional NRC inspection and attention to follow up on corrective actions. These plants 

were: Braidwood Unit 1 (Ill.); Callaway (Mo.); Davis-Besse (Ohio); Dresden Unit 3 (Ill.); Farley 

Unit 1(Ala.); North Anna Unit 2 (Va.); Palisades (Mich.); Prairie Island Unit 2 (Minn.); San 

Onofre Unit 2 (Calif.); Seabrook (N.H.); Turkey Point Unit 3(Fla.), and Waterford Unit 3 (La.). 

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. 10-155 September 3, 2010
Seven plants were performing at the third level of performance with one degraded safety 

cornerstone, needing even more NRC inspections, senior management attention, and oversight 

focused on the cause of the degraded performance. These plants were: Browns Ferry Units 1, 2, 

and 3 (Ala.); Ginna (N.Y.); Hatch Unit 2 (Ga.); Saint Lucie Unit 1(Fla.), and Wolf Creek 

Unit 1(Kan.).

 

 Every six months each plant receives either a mid-cycle review letter or an annual 

assessment letter, along with an NRC inspection plan. The next annual assessment letters will be 

issued in March 2011. 

 Some plants’ ratings may have changed since the last day of the assessment period. A list 

of each plant’s current performance rating is available on the NRC website at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/actionmatrix_summary.html. Updated 

information on plant performance is posted to the NRC website as it becomes available. The 

mid-cycle assessment letters sent to each licensee are available at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html. 

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