No. III-10-011 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 April 15, 2010 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov

Web site: www.nrc.gov

NRC TO DISCUSS 2009 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 

FOR POINT BEACH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT APRIL 22

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting with representatives 

of FPL Energy Point Beach on Thursday, April 22, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety 

performance for last year at the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant. The plant has two reactors 

located in Two Creeks, Wisc., roughly 40 southeast of Green Bay. 

 The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. CDT at the Two Creeks Town Hall, 5128 

East Tapawingo Rd. The NRC staff will present the results of the annual assessment, talk about 

the NRC and its range of activities and be available to respond to questions or comments from 

the public. 

 “The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Point Beach plant and the nation’s 

other commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region III Administrator Mark Satorius said. 

“This meeting allows us to discuss our annual assessment of safety performance with the 

company and area residents. One of NRC’s main goals is to explain to people in the community 

how the agency regulates nuclear power plants.” 

 A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials addresses the performance 

of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is 

available on the NRC Web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/poin_2009q4.pdf. 

 The NRC found that the Point Beach nuclear plant met all NRC safety objectives during 

2009, and performance at both units was at a level that resulted in no additional NRC oversight. 

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. 

 

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NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III 

2443 Warrenville Road 

Lisle IL 60532 
All performance indicators and inspection findings for Point Beach during 2009 were determined 

to be “green.” Performance indicators are a statistical measurement of plant and equipment 

performance. 

 

 In 2009 the NRC closed out two substantive cross-cutting issues in the areas of human 

performance and problem identification and resolution based on NRC review. Cross-cutting 

issues are issues that “cut across” multiple areas of plant operation. Examples of cross-cutting 

issues include weaknesses with a plant staff’s ability to identify and correct problems and the 

staff’s ability to develop effective procedures and adhere to these procedures. These issues 

cannot be quantified and are not assigned safety significance. When a substantive cross-cutting 

issue is identified at a nuclear power plant, the NRC expects the problem to be corrected. 

 Point Beach will continue to receive the detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for 

plants that require no additional oversight. Routine inspections are performed 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. Among the areas of plant 

operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are radiation protection, fire protection 

and a reactor power uprate. 

 Current performance information for Point Beach is available on the NRC’s web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN1/poin1_chart.html (Unit 1) and 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN2/poin2_chart.html (Unit 2). 

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