No: I-15-015 April 9, 2015

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 

 

NRC to Conduct Open House on April 16th in Prince Frederick, Md.,

to Discuss 2014 Performance of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public open house on April 16 in Prince 

Frederick, Md., to discuss the agency’s annual review of safety performance at the Calvert Cliffs 

nuclear power plant.

NRC staff will be on hand from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Springhill Suites hotel, located at 75 

Sherry Lane in Prince Frederick. Agency employees responsible for inspections of the plant, including 

the Resident Inspectors based at the Lusby (Calvert County), Md., site on a full-time basis, will be 

available to discuss the facility’s performance in 2014 and the agency’s oversight plans for 2015.

Under the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, the agency gauges plant performance through the 

use of color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators, which are statistical measurements 

of plant performance that can trigger additional oversight if exceeded.

The twin-reactor Calvert Cliffs plant is owned and operated by Exelon. On an overall basis, the 

plant operated safely in 2014. As of the end of last year, Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 had no inspection 

findings or performance indicators that were greater than “green” (very low safety significance). 

Therefore, that unit is currently under the NRC’s normal level of oversight.

Unit 2, however, was under additional NRC oversight as of the end of 2014 due to a “white” 

(low to moderate safety significance) inspection finding resulting from a failure to maintain an 

adequate standard emergency action level scheme because of inaccurate effluent radiation monitor 

thresholds. The NRC conducted a supplemental inspection at the plant during the week of Feb. 2, 2015, 

to assess Exelon’s root-case evaluation of the underlying issues and its corrective actions. Based on the 

results of that inspection, which were documented in a March 10th report, the finding has been closed 

out and Unit 2 returned to the normal level of oversight as of the start of the second quarter of 2015.

“Our process called for the stepped-up scrutiny at Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 in response to the 

‘white’ inspection finding. We have now performed an inspection to ensure that the company

appropriately evaluated the underlying issues and put in place changes that can prevent a recurrence. 

Our review found the company’s actions to be satisfactory,” NRC Region I Administrator Dan Dorman 

said. “More broadly, our annual assessments serve to help us focus our inspection resources on those 

areas where attention is most needed.”
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The NRC’s normal level of oversight at each U.S. nuclear power plant involves thousands of 

hours of inspection. In 2014, the agency devoted approximately 6,450 hours of review at Calvert Cliffs.

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 performed by two Resident Inspectors assigned to Calvert Cliffs. 

Reviews are also carried out at the sites 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 Calvert Cliffs are emergency 

preparedness, the plant’s problem identification and resolution program, radioactive solid waste 

processing and radioactive material handling, storage and transportation.

The Annual Assessment letter for Calvert Cliffs, as well as the notice for the April 16th open 

house, are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available for Calvert 

Cliffs Unit 1 and Calvert Cliffs Unit 2.