Of 104 commercial reactors in the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given 98 its top two safety ratings in annual assessment letters.
According to an NRC release, 89 reactors performed at the highest level within the agency’s inspection program during 2010. Reactor sites are inspected daily by NRC personnel, and overall assessments are given quarterly, yearly and at mid-year. Public meetings will be held near each plant this spring to discuss the annual results.
An additional nine reactors were ranked at the next highest safety level, indicating they need to resolve only one or two items of low significance. Those plants are Brunswick units 1 and 2, Calvert Cliffs 2, Farley 1, Ginna; North Anna 2, Susquehanna 1 and Turkey Point units 3 and 4.
The 2010 performance of the remaining six reactors resulted in a third-level rating (out of five levels) and additional NRC scrutiny in the coming year at each site for having a single “degraded safety cornerstone.” Those reactors are Oconee units 1, 2 and 3, H.B. Robinson 2, Fort Calhoun and Wolf Creek 1.
While the tenor of NRC’s assessment announcement was upbeat, the agency consistently reiterates its focus on improving safety at nuclear plants. In a speech Tuesday to NRC’s Regulatory Information Conference, agency chairman Gregory B. Jaczko noted:
"In 2010, we saw an increase in the number of automatic scrams for a second consecutive year, and at the end of the year, six plants still remain in Column 3 of the ROP Action Matrix.
"We also have seen challenges with human performance and material degradation – incidents that have been more significant than have been seen in some time. For example, one of the most significant inspection findings last year identified fire protection, safety culture, and poor operator performance as major contributors to a significant plant event. Recent events serve as a vivid reminder to the industry and to the agency that we have not encountered all the different types of equipment failures and human performance deficiencies that can undermine safety.”
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