NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING, OPEN HOUSE IN BRATTLEBORO, VT.,

TO DISCUSS VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR PLANT ANNUAL ASSESSMENT

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct a public meeting and open house on 

Wednesday, May 23, regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the 

Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

 The public meeting and open house will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at Brattleboro Union High School, at 131 Fairground Road in Brattleboro. During 

the open house, which begins at 5:30 p.m., members of the public will have an opportunity to 

talk on a one-on-one basis with NRC inspectors assigned to the plant and NRC managers about 

plant-related topics. Starting at 7 p.m., the NRC will conduct a public meeting at which agency 

staff members will take questions from attendees.

Vermont Yankee is the site of a single boiling-water reactor. It is located in Vernon, Vt.,

and is operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Overall, Vermont Yankee 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 

Vermont Yankee 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, Vermont Yankee will receive the very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC 

for plants that are operating well. In 2011, the NRC devoted approximately 6,325 hours of 

inspection to the Vermont Yankee facility.

“Throughout 2011, our inspectors kept close watch on safety performance at all 104 

commercial power reactors operating in the United States. Vermont Yankee was among those 

that met our clearly defined performance criteria last year,” NRC Region I Administrator Bill 

Dean said. “In addition, our inspectors spent time in 2011 verifying that there were no immediate 

safety concerns at Vermont Yankee, as well as all other 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-12-024

Contact: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330

 Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

May 9, 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 an annual assessment report 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 Vermont Yankee plant is available on the NRC web site 

at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/vy_2011q4.pdf. The notice for 

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

System (ADAMS) under accession number ML12121A628. 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 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 Vermont Yankee to be inspected this year by NRC 

specialists are activities associated with permanent plant modifications, radiological safety, 

emergency preparedness and the implementation of a voluntary industry initiative to address 

potential degradation of underground piping.

 

Current performance information for Vermont Yankee is available on the NRC web site 

at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/VY/vy_chart.html.

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