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-12-028

Contact: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662

 Prema Chandrathil (630) 829-9663

July 11, 2012

E-Mail: OPA3 @nrc.gov 

NRC SCHEDULES PUBLIC MEETING JULY 17 TO DISCUSS PERFORMANCE OF 

PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR POWER STATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting with 

representatives of Northern States Power Co. – Minnesota on Tuesday, July 17, to discuss the 

agency’s assessment of safety performance for last year at the Prairie Island Nuclear Power 

Plant. The two-unit plant is located in Welch, Minn., roughly 50 miles southeast of Minneapolis.

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

Red Wing High School, 2451 Eagle Ridge Drive in Red Wing. 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. 

“The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Prairie Island 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 Prairie Island and 

other US 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/prai_2011q4.pdf

Overall, the NRC found that the Prairie Island facility operated safely in 2011. 

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 Prairie Island Unit 2 during 2011

were determined to be “green.” The letter states that Unit 1 had one “white” finding. The finding 

involved the potential failure of safety-related battery chargers to perform their safety functions 

under certain event scenarios. The devices charge batteries which would provide alternate power 

to remotely operate some of the plant’s safety equipment. Each reactor has two chargers. If both 

are lost, the chargers can be reset manually in order to continue to operate. No actual event has 

occurred. 

The utility has taken actions to address the issue. The NRC completed a special 

inspection which reviewed these actions. NRC inspectors concluded that the utility had a 

thorough understanding of the issue and has successfully resolved it. 

The letter also addressed two violations associated with providing inaccurate information 

to the NRC during the approval of the new emergency action levels associated with radiation 

monitors. The NRC plans to follow up on these violations during scheduled inspections. 

Prairie Island will continue to receive the detailed inspection program used by the NRC 

for plants. Routine inspections are performed by two NRC resident inspectors assigned to the 

plant and 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, license renewal, problem 

identification and resolution, in-service inspection activities for safety systems, and emergency 

preparedness.

The most current performance information for Prairie Island is available on the NRC web

site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI1/prai1_chart.html (Unit1) and 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI2/prai2_chart.html (Unit 2).

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