May 25, 2016 

The Honorable Paul Ryan 

Speaker of the House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Mr. Speaker: 

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am forwarding the 

enclosed “Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences: Fiscal Year (FY) 2015.” This 

submission is in accordance with Section 208 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as 

amended (Public Law 93-438), and the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 

(Public Law 104-66), which require the NRC to identify and report abnormal occurrences (AOs) 

to Congress annually. An AO is an unscheduled incident or event that the Commission 

determines to be significant from the standpoint of public health or safety. 

The NRC initially issued the AO criteria in a policy statement that the Commission 

published in the Federal Register on February 24, 1977 (42 FR 10950), followed by several 

revisions in subsequent years. The most recent revision to the AO criteria, published in the 

Federal Register on October 12, 2006 (71 FR 60198), established the criteria that the NRC uses 

to define AOs for the purpose of the enclosed report, as set forth in Appendix A to that report. 

The enclosed AO report for FY 2015 describes two events involving NRC licensees and 

15 events involving Agreement State licensees. One event involved radiation exposure to an 

embryo or fetus by an NRC licensee and the other 15 Agreement State and one NRC-licensee 

events were medical events, as defined in NRC regulations. 

Sincerely, 

/RA/ 

Stephen G. Burns 

Enclosure: 

As stated 

 
Identical letter sent to:

The Honorable Paul Ryan 

Speaker of the House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. 

President of the United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable James M. Inhofe 

Chairman, Committee on Environment 

 and Public Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Barbara Boxer 

The Honorable Shelly Moore Capito 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Clean Air and 

 Nuclear Safety 

Committee on Environment and Public 

 Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Thomas R. Carper 

The Honorable Fred Upton 

Chairman, Committee on Energy 

 and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Frank Pallone Jr. 

The Honorable Ed Whitfield 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy 

 and Power 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Bobby L. Rush 

The Honorable John Shimkus 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Environment 

 and Economy 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Paul D. Tonko 

The Honorable Mike Simpson 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy, 

 Water Development 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Marcy Kaptur 

The Honorable Lamar Alexander 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy 

 and Water Development 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Dianne Feinstein