NRC Staff GPU Nuclear To Discuss Apparent Violations At TMI

	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

I-97-90

July 22, 1997

NRC STAFF, GPU NUCLEAR TO DISCUSS APPARENT VIOLATIONS AT TMI

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with officials of GPU Nuclear Corporation on Friday, July 25, to discuss two apparent violations of agency requirements at GPU's Three Mile Island nuclear plant, in Middletown, Pa. The predecisional enforcement conference, which is open to the public for observation, will be held at 10 a.m. in the NRC's Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa.

Identified during the March 5 full participation emergency exercise at the plant, the apparent violations are: a failure to recognize a general emergency and a failure to assess the need for protective action beyond the 10-mile emergency planning zone.

The decision to hold a pre-decisional enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC has determined 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 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.