NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III

2443 Warrenville Road

Lisle IL 60532

Site: www.nrc.gov

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

No. III-12-033

Contact: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662

 Prema Chandrathil (630) 829-9663

August 7, 2012

E-Mail: OPA3 @nrc.gov 

NRC SCHEDULES PUBLIC MEETING AUGUST 15 TO DISCUSS PERFORMANCE 

OF DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting with 

representatives of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co., on Wednesday, Aug. 15, to discuss the 

agency’s assessment of safety performance for past year at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power 

Station. The plant is located in Oak Harbor, Ohio, roughly 20 miles southeast of Toledo.

Overall, the NRC found that the Davis-Besse facility operated safely in 2011.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT at 

the Davis-Besse Energy Education Center, 5501 North State Rt.2 in Oak Harbor. The 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. An informational session 

will also be held before the meeting from 6 to 6:30 p.m. EDT. This session will provide agency 

information and allow attendees to discuss topics with NRC staff on a one-on-one basis.

“The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Davis-Besse plant and the nation’s 

other nuclear power facilities,” said Regional Administrator for NRC Region III Charles Casto. 

“This meeting will allow us to speak directly with the local community about the plant’s 

performance last year and the NRC’s actions to make sure the plant continues to operate safely. 

Those actions include additional inspections in response to the events at the Fukushima Daiichi 

facilities to evaluate the safety of US nuclear plants. The reviews showed that Davis-Besse and 

other U.S. plants continue to operate safely.” 

A letter sent from the NRC Region III office to plant officials addressed the performance 

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

web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/davi_2011q4.pdf

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. Performance
indicators are statistical measurements of plant and equipment performance. All performance 

indicators and inspection findings for Davis-Besse during 2011 were determined to be “green.” 

The NRC letter also addressed substantive cross-cutting issues in the area of human 

performance specifically with the plant staff’s effort and progress to address issues with 

documentation and procedures. Cross-cutting issues are issues that “cut across” multiple areas of 

plant operation.

In Davis-Besse’s case, the NRC is concerned with corrective actions taken in 2010 that 

appear to have been ineffective and a similar evaluation in 2011 which did not identify any 

common causes and subsequently recommended no additional corrective actions be taken. The 

human performance findings will remain open until sustained performance improvement is made 

and the findings are reduced.

As a result of this performance Davis-Besse will continue to receive the detailed 

inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating well and 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.

In addition to the day-to-day inspections performed by the resident inspectors, specific 

areas of plant operations to be inspected include radiation protection, fire protection and the 

reactor vessel head replacement.

The most current performance information for Davis-Besse is available on the NRC web

site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DAVI/davi_chart.html

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