No: III-16-003 March 23, 2016

CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662

 Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663

NRC to Discuss Performance of Clinton Nuclear Power Station March 30

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be available on March 30, to discuss the agency’s 

annual safety performance assessment of the Clinton Nuclear Power Station during the Clinton Area 

Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau's Business Expo. The expo is open to the public and will 

be held at Clinton High School, 1200 Highway 54, in Clinton from 4 to 7 p.m. The plant is located in 

Clinton, Ill., about 23 miles southeast of Bloomington and is owned by Exelon Generation Co.

“This is the second year we are reaching out to the local community by participating in the 

expo. We see it as a great opportunity to engage a large number of local citizens who live near the plant 

and talk with them about what the NRC does,” said NRC Region III Administrator Cynthia D. 

Pederson. “The resident inspectors stationed at the plant and other members of the NRC staff 

are looking forward to joining this community event to answer questions about the plant's 

performance and NRC oversight.”

The NRC’s annual assessment letter sent from the NRC Region III office to the company 

addresses the performance of the plant during 2015 and is available on the NRC website. Overall, the 

Clinton plant operated safely in 2015.

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,” 

commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. Performance indicators are statistical 

measurements of plant and equipment performance. The NRC’s action matrix reflects overall plant 

performance and agency response. There are five columns in the matrix with Column 1 requiring a 

baseline level of inspections. A move to another column results in an increased level of NRC oversight 

and inspections. 

During 2015, the plant was in Column 2 of the action matrix due to a greater-than-green finding 

in the area of plant security and a white finding related to the plant’s failure to make sure that a safetyrelated pump would continue to perform its safety function following modifications. Due to the sensitive 

nature of nuclear plant security information, the details of the security finding are not publicly 

available. 

The NRC conducted two supplemental inspections to determine if the plant has taken sufficient 

actions to resolve the issues and prevent their recurrence. The supplemental inspection on the 

greater-than-green security finding found the plant had taken appropriate actions and the finding was 
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closed in the beginning of the second quarter of 2015. The supplemental inspection related to the pump 

issue was conducted in February 2016 and concluded that the plant has resolved this concern. As a 

result, the plant moved to Column 1 of the Action Matrix in the first quarter of 2016.

Routine inspections are conducted by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by 

inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in 

Rockville, Md. Some of the performance areas to be inspected this year include the design basis of 

plant components, independent spent fuel storage facility installation and post-Fukushima follow-up 

inspections. The most current performance information for Clinton is available on the NRC website.