NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS ON MARCH 21st IN BERWICK, PA.,

TO DISCUSS ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF SUSQUEHANNA NUCLEAR PLANT

AND RESULTS OF RECENT SUPPLEMENTAL INSPECTION

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, March 

21, regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the Susquehanna nuclear 

power plant during 2011.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the Eagle Building, at 107 S. Market St. in 

Berwick, Pa. Prior to the session’s conclusion, there will be an opportunity for members of the 

public to ask questions of the NRC staff regarding the plant’s performance, as well as the 

agency’s oversight of the facility.

A second meeting, which will be held at the same location, will start at 7 p.m. and discuss 

the results of a supplemental inspection conducted during the weeks of Feb. 13 and 27 at the 

plant. That team inspection evaluated the actions taken by the facility’s owner, PPL, in response 

to a “White” (low to moderate safety significance) inspection finding and a “White” 

Performance Indicator at Susquehanna Unit 1. The NRC conducted the inspection to evaluate 

whether PPL fully understands the root causes of the associated problems and has implemented 

sufficient corrective actions to address them.

The Susquehanna plant, which is located in Salem Township (Luzerne County), Pa., is 

the site of two boiling-water reactors.

“Among plants overseen by the NRC’s Region I Office, Susquehanna Unit 1 was the 

only unit listed in the ‘Degraded Cornerstone’ Column of our Action Matrix, which dictates our 

level of oversight for each plant,” NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. “Consistent with 

that fact, we are continuing to devote additional inspection resources to the plant until we are 

satisfied the issues that led to the designation of ‘Degraded Cornerstone’ have been fully 

addressed.”

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-12-008

Contact: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330

 Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

March 19, 2012

Email: opa1.resource@nrc.gov
Overall, the Susquehanna Unit 1 and 2 reactors operated safely during 2011. For 

Susquehanna Unit 2, as assessed through the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, there were no 

inspection findings that were “Greater than Green” (rising to the level requiring additional NRC 

oversight) or any performance indicators that were other than “Green” (exceeding the threshold 

for the indicator and requiring additional NRC oversight). Therefore, for the remainder of 2012, 

Unit 2 will receive the normal, very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that 

are operating well.

However, Susquehanna Unit 1 had a “White” (low to moderate safety significance) 

inspection finding during 2010, and that finding remains open. The finding stems from an 

internal flooding event at the plant on July 16, 2010, which required plant operators to manually 

shut down the reactor.

The NRC is also continuing to apply additional oversight to Susquehanna Unit 1 due to a 

performance indicator that changed to “White” in 2011. The performance indicator covers 

Unplanned Scrams (or shutdowns) per 7,000 Hours of Online Operation. This means that if a 

plant experiences more than three unplanned scrams during the previous 7,000 hours of 

operation, the performance indicator will transition from “Green” to “White”. Susquehanna Unit 

1 crossed that threshold at the end of the first quarter of 2011. That performance indicator, 

combined with the “White” inspection finding, placed the unit in the “Degraded Cornerstone 

Column” of the NRC’s Action Matrix. 

In addition, the NRC will continue to monitor efforts by PPL to address substantive 

cross-cutting issues at Susquehanna in the areas of human resources and problem identification 

and resolution. The plant had four inspection findings in the human resources area in 2011 and 

six inspection findings involving the facility’s problem identification and resolution programs.

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 for the Susquehanna plant is available on the NRC website. The 

notices for the meetings are available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System (ADAMS) under accession numbers ML12066A064 and ML12066A077.

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 the

plant and by inspection specialists from the agency’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa.
Among the areas of performance at Susquehanna to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are 

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

preparedness and the plant’s implementation of an industry initiative to address the potential 

degradation of underground piping.

Current performance information for Susquehanna Unit 1 and Susquehanna Unit 2 is 

available on the NRC website.

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