NRC Finds Performance 'Acceptable' at San Onofre in Latest Review

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NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011

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RIV: 99-18
April 8, 1999

CONTACT:

Breck Henderson (817) 860-8128/e-mail: bwh@nrc.gov

 

NRC FINDS PERFORMANCE 'ACCEPTABLE'
AT SAN ONOFRE IN LATEST REVIEW

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has found that safety performance remains acceptable in the NRC's latest plant performance review at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station located near San Clemente, California.

Officials of NRC and Southern California Edison (SCE) will discuss the review during a meeting set for Thursday, April 22, at 1 p.m. in the Training & Education Center at the plant site. The meeting will be open for public observation. NRC officials will be available afterwards to speak with reporters, state and local officials, and members of the public.

In a letter to SCE Executive Vice President Harold B. Ray NRC Branch Chief Linda J. Smith said, "Overall, performance was acceptable." Operating performance was characterized by effective operator responses to both normal and transient conditions, and engineering programs effectively supported operations and maintenance activities. Field maintenance and surveillance testing were conducted well. Plant Support performance was generally effective. The review identified some performance weaknesses in each functional area that are being addressed by SCE's corrective action program. The performance during this period does not warrant any additional inspection effort above the core inspection program except for a regional initiative inspection to assess compensatory measures in security that were specified in the previous PPR.

The text of the plant performance review letter is available from the NRC Region IV Office of Public Affairs and the NRC web site.

NRC reviews safety performance twice a year at every licensed nuclear power plant in the nation. These reviews give the agency staff an integrated assessment of plant performance and provide a basis for planning inspection activities.

Plant performance reviews are an interim measure NRC is utilizing to monitor nuclear power plant safety. The agency began using it for this purpose after suspending the Systematic Assessment of License Performance (SALP) process until a new assessment program is developed. Previously, SALP reports were issued every 12 to 24 months.

The new reactor oversight and assessment program being developed will provide quarterly performance reports, based on a number of performance indicators and on inspection findings. This program will be tested at eight plants beginning in June and, if found acceptable, will be extended to all plants next January. A full description of the new program is available on the NRC web site.