NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE ON APRIL 19 IN PRINCE FREDERICK, MD.,

TO DISCUSS CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR PLANT ANNUAL ASSESSMENT

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct an open house on Thursday, April 19, 

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

power plant.

 The open house will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the SpringHill Suites hotel, at 

75 Sherry Lane in Prince Frederick, Md. Members of the public will have an opportunity to learn 

first-hand from NRC staff members about the plant’s safety performance during 2011 and the 

NRC’s oversight of the facility. The meeting format 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 is the site of two pressurized-water reactors. It is located in Lusby (Calvert 

County), Md., and is owned and operated by Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, LLC.

Overall, Calvert Cliffs operated safely during 2011. At the conclusion of last year, as 

assessed by the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, there were no performance indicators for the 

plant that were other than “Green” (very low risk) and no inspection findings that were “Greater 

than Green” (all findings were of very low safety significance). Therefore, for the rest of 2012, 

Calvert Cliffs will receive the very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that 

are operating well. In 2011, the NRC devoted approximately 7,000 hours of inspection to the 

Calvert Cliffs facility.

“Throughout 2011, our inspectors kept close watch on a daily basis to ensure there were 

no safety issues of significance. The Calvert Cliffs plant was among those to meet our clearly 

defined performance criteria last year,” NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. “In 

addition, our inspectors spent time in 2011 checking on whether there were any immediate safety 

concerns at U.S. nuclear power plants following the March events at the Fukushima Daiichi 

facility in Japan. Those reviews indicated the plants remained safe for continued operation.”

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: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. I-12-017

Contact: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330

 Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

April 11, 2012

Email: opa1.resource@nrc.gov
The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance

indicators to measure plant performance. The colors start with “Green” and then increase to

“White,” “Yellow” or “Red,” commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.

The agency issues reports on performance at specific plants twice a year: during the mid-cycle,

or mid-point, of the year, and at the conclusion of the 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 for the Calvert Cliffs plant is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/calv_2011q4.pdf. The notice for 

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

System (ADAMS) under accession number ML12073A291. ADAMS is available at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.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.Resource@NRC.GOV.

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 Calvert Cliffs to be inspected this year by NRC specialists 

are activities associated with radiological safety, the dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel, 

emergency preparedness and the facility’s implementation of a voluntary industry initiative to 

address potential degradation of underground piping.

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

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

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