No. I-14-015 April 8, 2014 

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 

NRC Schedules Open House for April 17th to Discuss

Performance of Three Mile Island 1 Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct an open house on Thursday, April 17, to 

discuss the agency’s annual review of safety performance at the Three Mile Island 1 nuclear power 

plant.

During the open house, scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Londonderry Township Municipal 

Building, at 738 South Geyers Church Road in Middletown, Pa., members of the public will be able to 

hold one-on-one discussions with NRC staff regarding the plant’s performance in 2013, as well as the 

agency’s oversight plans for the facility this year. NRC staff in attendance will include the NRC 

Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant on a full-time basis and their supervisor.

Under the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, color-coded inspection findings and performance 

indicators are used to assess plant performance. (Performance indicators are statistical measurements of 

plant and equipment performance which, if exceeded, trigger additional NRC oversight.) The colors 

range from green, connoting very low safety or security significance, to white, yellow or red, for an 

issue of high significance.

Overall, Three Mile Island 1 performed safely during 2013. At the conclusion of last year, as 

assessed by the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, there were no performance indicators for the plant 

that were other than “green” (very low risk) and no inspection findings that were “greater than green” 

(that is, none of the findings exceeded very low safety significance). As a result, Three Mile Island 1, 

which is a single pressurized-water reactor located in Middletown (Dauphin County) and owned and 

operated by Exelon Generation Co. LLC, will continue to receive the NRC’s normal level of oversight 

during 2013, barring any changes.

The normal level of oversight consists of a detailed regime entailing thousands of hours of 

inspection. In 2013, the NRC devoted approximately 5,360 hours of inspection at Three Mile Island 1.

“We take very seriously the task of stepping back on a regular basis to size up plant 

performance. These comprehensive evaluations help guide our reviews for the year ahead, though we 

maintain flexibility to adjust what we plan to inspect should conditions change,” NRC Region I 

Administrator Bill Dean said. “Three Mile Island 1, by virtue of its performance in 2013, will receive 

our routine – though still substantial – battery of inspections.”
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The NRC issues 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 a quarterly basis on the agency’s website. Following the release of the Annual 

Assessment letters each March, the NRC meets with the public in the vicinity of each plant to discuss 

the results.

Normal inspections are carried out by the two Resident Inspectors assigned to Three Mile Island 

1. Reviews are also performed at the site by specialist inspectors assigned to the agency’s Region I 

Office in King of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas to be inspected this year at Three Mile Island 1 are the 

plant’s problem identification and resolution program, its radiological safety program and the 

implementation of an industry initiative to monitor the condition of underground piping at the site. In 

addition, the NRC staff will conduct a post-approval site inspection for license renewal. The NRC 

approved a 20-year license extension for the plant in 2009.

The annual assessment letter for Three Mile Island 1, as well as the meeting notice for the April 

17th open house, are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available 

for Three Mile Island 1.