NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE ON MARCH 22 IN SCRIBA, N.Y., TO DISCUSS

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF NINE MILE POINT, FITZPATRICK NUCLEAR PLANTS

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold an open house on Thursday, March 22, 

regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the Nine Mile Point and 

James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plants.

 The open house will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Scriba Town Hall, 42 Creamery 

Road in Oswego, N.Y. Members of the public will have an opportunity to learn first-hand from 

NRC staff members about the safety performance of the plants 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 plants and their NRC Region I 

supervisors.

Nine Mile Point, which is the site of two boiling-water reactors, and FitzPatrick, which is

the site of a single boiling-water reactor, are located adjacent to one another in Scriba (Oswego

County), N.Y. Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, LLC, owns and operates Nine Mile Point 

while Entergy Nuclear Northeast owns and operates FitzPatrick.

Overall, Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 and FitzPatrick operated safely during 2011. At the 

conclusion of last year, as assessed through the NRC Reactor Oversight Process, there were no 

performance indicators for the Nine Mile Point units or FitzPatrick that were other than “Green” 

and no inspection findings that were “Greater than Green.” Therefore, for the rest of 2012, Nine 

Mile Point 1 and 2 and FitzPatrick will receive the normal, very detailed inspection regime used 

by the NRC for plants that are operating well. In 2011, the NRC devoted approximately 6,940 

hours of inspection to the Nine Mile Point facility and about 5,180 hours of inspection to the 

FitzPatrick facility.

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-12-007

Contact: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330

 Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

March 16, 2012

Email: opa1.resource@nrc.gov
“Throughout 2011, our inspectors kept close watch on a daily basis to ensure there were 

no safety issues of significance. The Nine Mile Point and FitzPatrick plants were 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.”

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 website 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 letters for FitzPatrick and Nine Mile Point are available on the 

NRC web site. The notice for the open house is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML12066A142. 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 each 

site and by inspection specialists from the agency’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. 

Among the areas of performance at FitzPatrick to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are 

activities associated with radiological safety and controls, dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel, 

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

address potential degradation of underground piping. Among the areas of performance at Nine 

Mile Point to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are activities associated with fire 

protection, a power uprate at Nine Mile Point 2, radiological effluent monitoring and the plant’s 

implementation of a voluntary industry initiative to address potential degradation of underground 

piping.

Current performance information for FitzPatrick, Nine Mile Point 1 and Nine Mile Point 

2 is available on the NRC website.

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