Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues annual assessments for U.S. nuclear power plants

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently issued its annual assessments of operational performance for 2017 to the nation’s 99 operating commercial nuclear power plants.

All but three plants scored in the two highest performance categories. Of the 96 highest-performing reactors, 83 met all safety and security performance objectives.

The NRC determined that 13 reactors required resolution of one or two items of low safety significance. These facilities will require additional inspections and follow-up of corrective actions.

The plants at this level are: Browns Ferry 1, 2 and 3 (Alabama); Catawba 2 (South Carolina); Clinton (Illinois); Columbia (Washington state); Diablo Canyon 2 (California); Fermi 2 (Michigan); Grand Gulf (Mississippi); Perry (Ohio); Sequoyah 1 and 2 (Tennessee); and Wolf Creek (Kansas).

Diablo Canyon 2 and Fermi 2 resolved their findings after the reporting period ended and have moved to the highest performing level.

No reactors were in the third performance category with a degraded level of performance.

Three reactors were in the fourth performance category. Arkansas Nuclear One 1 and 2 require increased oversight due to two safety findings of substantial significance. Pilgrim (Massachusetts) requires additional inspections because of long-standing issues of low-to-moderate safety significance.

The NRC will host a public meeting or another event near each plant this spring or summer to discuss the details of the annual assessments.