NRC OPEN HOUSE APRIL 3 IN SCRIBA, N.Y., TO DISCUSS PERFORMANCE OF 

NINE MILE POINT, FITZPATRICK NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public open house on Wednesday, April 

3, to discuss the agency’s annual review of safety performance at the Nine Mile Point and James 

A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plants.

During the open house, scheduled for 4-6 p.m. at Scriba Town Hall, 42 Creamery Road 

in Oswego, N.Y., attendees will have an opportunity to hold one-on-one discussions with NRC 

staff members about the plants’ 2012 performance and the agency’s oversight of the facilities. 

NRC staff on hand will include the inspectors assigned to the plants on a full-time basis and their 

supervisors.

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, 

signifying increasing safety significance of the issues involved. Performance indicators are 

statistical measurements of plant and equipment performance.

Overall, Nine Mile Point, consisting of two boiling-water reactors located in Scriba and 

owned by Constellation Energy Nuclear Group LLC, operated safely during 2012. Likewise, 

FitzPatrick, a single boiling-water reactor also located in Scriba and owned by Entergy Nuclear 

Northeast, operated safely. For Nine Mile Point 2, as assessed through the NRC’s Reactor 

Oversight Process, there were no inspection findings greater than green (rising to the level 

requiring additional NRC oversight) or any performance other than green (exceeding the 

threshold for the indicator and requiring additional NRC oversight). Therefore, Nine Mile Point 

2 will continue to receive the NRC’s normal level of oversight for the remainder of 2012, barring 

any changes.

However, Nine Mile Point 1 and FitzPatrick both had performance indicators change

from green to white during 2012. Consequently, the units will receive additional scrutiny until 

the NRC is satisfied the relevant issues have been properly evaluated and satisfactory corrective 

actions have been developed and implemented.

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

2100 Renaissance Blvd., King of Prussia, Pa. 19406-2713

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov 

Site: www.nrc.gov

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

No. I-13-008

Contact: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330

 Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

March 25, 2013

Email: opa1.resource@nrc.gov
The performance indicator that changed for Nine Mile Point 1 involves unplanned 

scrams, or shutdowns, per 7,000 hours of operation. If a plant has more than three unplanned 

scrams during that period of time, the indicator changes from green to white. At the end of 2012, 

the Nine Mile Point 1 rolling average for that indicator stood at 3.5. For FitzPatrick, the 

performance indicator that changed tracks the number of unplanned power changes per 7,000 

hours of operation. If that total exceeds six during that period of time, the indicator will move 

from green to white. That rolling average was tallied at 6.5 at the end of 2012 for FitzPatrick.

Plants that meet NRC criteria receive the normal level of oversight, which still consists of 

a detailed regime involving thousands of hours of inspection. In 2012, the agency devoted 

approximately 6,700 hours of inspection to the Nine Mile Point plant and approximately 5,800 

hours of inspection to the FitzPatrick plant.

“When the time comes to evaluate a plant’s performance for the previous year, we take a 

fresh look at any and all issues that might be of concern. We then adjust our plans for assessing 

the facility accordingly,” NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. “With respect to Nine 

Mile Point 1 and FitzPatrick, our Reactor Oversight Process dictates that further attention is 

needed at both units following a change in a performance indicator for each.”

The agency issues reports on performance at each plant twice a year: during the midcycle, or mid-point, of the year, and at the conclusion of the year. Inspection findings and 

performance indicators are also updated quarterly on the NRC’s website, www.nrc.gov. 

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 sessions are in keeping with the agency’s 

commitment to transparency with respect to its activities.

Routine inspections are carried out by the two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to each 

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

Among the areas of performance to be inspected at Nine Mile Point this year by NRC specialists 

are activities associated with emergency preparedness, problem identification and resolution, and 

permanent plant modifications, while focus areas at FitzPatrick reviews will include radiological 

safety, the dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel and underground pipes and tanks.

The annual assessment letters for Nine Mile Point and FitzPatrick, as well as the meeting 

notice for the April 3 open house, are available on the NRC website. Current performance 

information is also available for Nine Mile Point 1, Nine Mile Point 2 and FitzPatrick.

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