NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE APRIL 11 IN SHIPPINGPORT, PA.,

TO DISCUSS BEAVER VALLEY NUCLEAR PLANT ANNUAL ASSESSMENT

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

11, to discuss the agency’s annual review of safety performance at the Beaver Valley nuclear 

power plant.

During the open house, which is scheduled for 6:30 - 8 p.m. at the Shippingport 

Community and Municipal Building, at 164 State Road 3016 in Shippingport (Beaver County), 

Pa., attendees will have an opportunity to hold one-on-one discussions with NRC staff members 

about the plant’s 2012 performance and the agency’s oversight of the facility. NRC staff on hand 

will include the inspectors assigned to the plants on a full-time basis and their supervisors.

Overall, the Beaver Valley plant — consisting of two pressurized-water reactors located 

in Shippingport and owned by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. — operated safely during 

2012. However, the facility is currently under additional NRC oversight because of one or more 

greater than green security-related inspection findings identified in the third quarter of 2012. The 

plant 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.

Plants that meet criteria set out by the NRC 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 6,400 hours of inspection to the Beaver Valley 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 Beaver 

Valley, our Reactor Oversight Process dictates that further attention is needed at that site until 

the root causes of the security-related issues that were identified have been fully addressed.”

The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance 

indicators to assess plant performance. The colors begin with green and then increase to white, 

yellow or red, commensurate with the risk significance of the issues involved. The agency issues 

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-13-014

Contact: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330

 Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

April 4, 2013

Email: opa1.resource@nrc.gov
reports on performance at each plant 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, www.nrc.gov , 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 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 Beaver Valley this year by NRC specialists 

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

problem identification and resolution, and underground tanks and piping.

The annual assessment letter for the Beaver Valley plant, the meeting notice for the April 

11 open house, as well as current performance information for Unit 1 and Unit 2, are available 

on the NRC website.

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