No. I-15-023 May 13, 2015 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 E-mail: opa1.resource@nrc.gov

 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 

 

NRC to Conduct Open House May 21 in Limerick, Pa.,

to Discuss 2014 Performance of Limerick Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public open house on May 21 in Limerick, Pa., 

to discuss the agency’s annual review of safety performance at the Limerick nuclear power plant.

NRC staff will be on hand from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Limerick Township Municipal Building, 

located at 646 W. Ridge Pike. Agency employees responsible for inspections of the plant, including the 

Resident Inspectors based at the Limerick (Montgomery County), Pa., 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.

On an overall basis, Limerick, which is owned by Exelon Generation Co. LLC, operated safely 

in 2014. However, as of the end of last year, the twin-reactor plant was under additional oversight as a 

result of a “greater-than-green” security-related inspection finding that was finalized last October.

An NRC supplemental team inspection focused on the security concern was conducted in 

March. The results of the review were contained in an inspection report issued in April. Inspection 

reports related to security are not made public. The inspectors determined that Exelon’s corrective 

actions to evaluate and address the issues that led to the finding were appropriate. Therefore, the 

Limerick plant returned to the normal level of NRC oversight as of the start of the second quarter of 

2015.

“We sought to independently verify that the company fully understood the root causes of the 

issue and had taken appropriate steps to correct them. Our inspection confirmed that had occurred,” 

NRC Region I Administrator Dan Dorman said. “With respect to our Annual Assessment of the plant’s 

safety performance, it serves to help us focus our inspection resources on those areas where attention is 

most needed.”

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 5,300 hours of review at Limerick.
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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 performed by two Resident Inspectors assigned to Limerick. 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 Limerick 

are radiation protection, the dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel and emergency planning.

The Annual Assessment letter for Limerick, as well as the notice for the May 21 open house,

are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available for Limerick Unit 

1 and Limerick Unit 2