NRC Issues Mid-Cycle Assessments
Of the 96 highest-performing reactors, 87 fully met all of the safety and security performance objectives and were inspected by NRC using the normal "baseline" inspection program. Nine reactors needed to resolve one or two items of low safety significance.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Sept. 2 it has issued mid-cycle assessment letters to the nation's 99 operating commercial nuclear power plants concerning their performance through the first half of 2016. The mid-cycle assessment period concluded June 30 with 96 plants in the two highest performance categories.
"These assessment letters are part of our annual assessment process, involving a thorough review of plant performance, assessing any changes needed, and communicating those results," said Chris Miller, director of the Division of Inspection and Regional Support in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. "They are part of the Reactor Oversight Process the NRC uses to ensure our nation's nuclear generation facilities are safe."
Of the 96 highest-performing reactors, 87 fully met all of the safety and security performance objectives and were inspected by NRC using the normal "baseline" inspection program. Nine reactors needed to resolve one or two items of low safety significance, for which regulatory oversight includes additional inspection and follow-up of corrective actions. Plants in this level are: Davis-Besse (Ohio); Indian Point 3 (New York); Oyster Creek (New Jersey); Prairie Island 2
(Minnesota); River Bend (Louisiana); Salem (New Jersey); Sequoyah 1 (Tennessee); and Vogtle 1 and 2 (Georgia). And there were no reactors in the third performance category with a degraded level of performance.
Three reactors, Arkansas Nuclear One 1 and 2 (Arkansas) and Pilgrim (Massachusetts), were in the fourth performance category at the end of the mid-cycle assessment period and require increased oversight. Arkansas Nuclear One 1 and 2 were in this category because of two safety findings of substantial significance and Pilgrim was in it because of longstanding performance issues of low-to-moderate safety significance.