NRC Staff to Discuss Apparent Violations at Main Yankee; Regional Administrator to Hold Quarterly Press Conference

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
	CONTACT:	Diane Screnci (610)337-5330/ e-mail: dps@nrc.gov Neil A. Sheehan (610)337-5331/e-mail: nas@nrc.gov

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I-97-18

March 4, 1997

NRC STAFF TO DISCUSS APPARENT VIOLATIONS AT MAINE YANKEE;
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR TO HOLD QUARTERLY PRESS CONFERENCE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with officials of the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company on Tuesday, March 11, to discuss apparent violations of NRC requirements at the Maine Yankee nuclear plant in Wiscassett. The predecisional enforcement conference, which is open to the public for observation only, will begin at 9 a.m. in the Media Center at the site.

Immediately following the predecisional enforcement conference, NRC Region I Administrator Hubert J. Miller will hold a press conference to discuss agency activities concerning Maine Yankee. NRC regional officials hold these news conferences on a quarterly basis to discuss events at regulated nuclear facilities and answer reporters' questions on these subjects.

The apparent violations at Maine Yankee were found during a special NRC inspection conducted in December and January to review safety concerns raised by an NRC Independent Safety Assessment Team (ISAT) which examined conditions at Maine Yankee from July 15 through August 23. The follow-up inspection also verified actions taken by the licensee in response to issues which the ISAT raised. As a result of this inspection, the NRC has identified apparent violations of NRC requirements in five major categories. They include inoperability of safety-related equipment, as well as inadequacies in testing, safety review, procedures and corrective actions.

The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC has determined that a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. Rather, the purpose is to discuss apparent violations, their causes and safety significance; to provide the licensee an opportunity to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC inspection report; and to enable the licensee to outline its proposed corrective actions. No decision on the apparent violations will be made at this conference. Those decisions will be made by senior NRC officials at a later time.