No. II-12-029 May 7, 2012

CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

 Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416

NRC SCHEDULES MEETING TO DISCUSS 2011 PERFORMANCE OF 

TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a public meeting for 

Tuesday, May 15, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance during 2011 at the 

Turkey Point nuclear power plant. The facility, operated by Florida Power and Light Co., is

located about 25 miles south of Miami near Homestead, Fla.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. EDT at Homestead City Hall, located at 790 

North Homestead Blvd., Homestead. The NRC staff will be available after the meeting to answer 

questions from the public about the safety performance of the Turkey Point plant and the NRC 

role in ensuring safe plant operations. 

“During 2011, our inspectors spent many hours ensuring that the Turkey Point plant met 

NRC safety requirements and protected both people living near the plant and the environment,” 

NRC Region II Administrator Victor McCree said.

NRC inspectors also looked at whether there were immediate safety concerns at Turkey 

Point and other U.S. plants after the March 2011 events at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. 

A letter sent from the NRC Region II office to plant officials addresses the performance 

of the plant during 2011 and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on 

the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/tp_2011q4.pdf .

The NRC determined that overall, the Turkey Point units performed in a manner that 

preserved public health and safety and met all regulatory objectives. During the first two quarters 

of the assessment period, Unit 4 was subjected to additional oversight due to a “white” 

performance indicator related to unplanned scrams. However, a supplemental inspection 

confirmed that FPL had adequately addressed the concerns and the unit was returned to baseline 

inspections.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess plant 

performance. The colors start with “green,” which has very low safety significance, to “white,” 

which has low to moderate safety significance, “yellow” or “red,” based on the significance of 

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the issues. Inspection findings and performance indicators are updated on the NRC’s web site

(www.nrc.gov ) each quarter. 

The NRC has yet to finalize the significance of apparent violations associated with the 

failure to properly maintain the Turkey Point technical support center ventilation system. That 

issue may affect the NRC’s assessment of plant performance and planned inspections.

This year, the NRC plans to continue to conduct the very detailed inspections required at 

those plants that are operating well. In addition, the agency will complete some generic 

inspections at Turkey Point related to operator licensing examinations, emergency preparedness, 

fire protection and buried piping. 

Current performance information for Turkey Point Unit 3 is available on the NRC web 

site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/TP3/tp3_chart.html . Current performance 

information for Unit 4 is at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/TP4/tp4_chart.html .

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