NRC TO DISCUSS 2008 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 

FOR POINT BEACH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT APRIL 29

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings with 

representatives of NextEra Energy Resources (formerly FPL Energy) Wednesday, April 29, to 

discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for last year at the Point Beach Nuclear 

Power Plant. The plant has two reactors located in Two Creeks, Wisc. 

 The first meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. CDT at the Point Beach Energy Center, 

6610 Nuclear Rd., Two Creeks. The second meeting will begin at 6 p.m. CDT at the Two Creeks 

Town Hall, 5128 East Tapawingo Rd. The first meeting will focus on actions taken by the utility to 

improve the status of human performance and identification resolution issues at the plant. During 

the second meeting NRC staff will present the results of the annual assessment, talk about the NRC 

and its range of activities and be available to respond to questions or comments from the public. 

Also, the utility will provide a summary of issues discussed at the 1 p.m. meeting. 

 “The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Point Beach plant and the nation’s 

other commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region III Administrator Mark Satorius said. 

“This meeting allows us to discuss our annual assessment of safety performance with the company 

and area residents. One of NRC’s main goals is to explain to people in the community how the 

agency regulates nuclear power plants.” 

 A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials addresses the performance of 

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

the NRC Web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/poin_2008q4.pdf. 

 The NRC found that the Point Beach nuclear plant met all NRC safety objectives during 

2008, and performance at both units was at a level that resulted in no additional NRC oversight. The 

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

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

commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III 

2443 Warrenville Road 

Lisle IL 60532 

No. III-09-011 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

April 22, 2009 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov
 All performance indicators and inspection findings for Point Beach during 2008 were 

determined to be “green.” Performance indicators are a statistical measurement of plant and 

equipment performance. 

 The NRC assessment letter addressed two substantive cross-cutting issues. The first issue is 

in the area of human performance; the second issue is in the area of problem identification and 

resolution. Cross-cutting issues are issues that affect or “cut across” multiple areas of plant 

operation. Examples of cross-cutting issues include weaknesses with a plant staff’s ability to 

identify and correct problems and the staff’s ability to develop effective procedures and adhere to 

these procedures. These issues cannot be quantified and are not assigned safety significance. When a 

substantive cross-cutting issue is identified at a nuclear power plant, the NRC expects the problem 

to be corrected. 

 

 At Point Beach, the substantive cross-cutting issues relate to the utility’s failure to have 

adequate procedures and the ability to take appropriate actions to correct issues in a timely manner. 

The plant has implemented a plan to address these issues. Even though some progress has been 

made, actions have not yet proven to be effective. As stated in the NRC assessment letter crosscutting issues which have been identified for three and four consecutive quarters need to be 

discussed by the utility in a public forum. In response to the NRC’s request the utility will discuss 

these issues at both meetings. 

 The NRC also requested that an independent assessment of corrective actions be performed 

in the areas of human performance and problem identification and resolution. The NRC plans on 

inspecting the utility’s actions to address the substantial cross-cutting issues this year and review the 

independent assessment. Point Beach will also continue to receive the detailed inspection regime 

used by the NRC for plants that require no additional oversight. Routine inspections are performed 

by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region 

III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant 

operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency preparedness and engineering 

modifications. 

 Current performance information for Point Beach is available on the NRC’s web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN1/poin1_chart.html (Unit 1) and 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN2/poin2_chart.html (Unit 2). 

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