NRC ISSUES WATERFORD NUCLEAR PLANT INSPECTION FINDINGOF LOW

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NRC ISSUES WATERFORD NUCLEAR PLANT INSPECTION FINDINGOF LOW TO MODERATE SAFETY SIGNIFICANCEThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that an inspection finding at theWaterford 3 nuclear plant involving unplanned radiation exposure to workers is of “white” orlow to moderate safety significance. The facility, operated by Entergy, is located 25 miles westof New Orleans, La.“This finding was caused by the licensee’s failure to use effective engineering controlsprior to conducting work during a refueling outage,” Region IV Administrator Elmo Collins said. “The NRC will determine the appropriate follow-up actions to ensure this issue is beingaddressed; including additional inspections.” In 2009, during a refueling outage, officials failed to properly contain highly radioactivecooling water from leaking onto work areas resulting in unplanned radiation doses to workers. Although, the radiological doses the workers received were below regulatory limits, NRCregulations require that radiation exposures be limited to As Low As Reasonably Achievable(ALARA).This issue was identified during an NRC inspection in the spring of 2010, to review theeffectiveness of radiological control practices during the previous refueling outage. NRC staffheld a regulatory conference with Entergy officials on October 3, during which licenseerepresentatives discussed the inspection finding. After review of the information, NRC staff has characterized the finding as “white”. NRCevaluates performance at plants with a color-coded process which classifies regulatory findingsas either green, white, yellow, or red, in order of increasing significance. The NRC inspection report is available through the agency’s electronic reading room at:http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and ML112360693. Help in accessing these documents is available from the NRC Public Document Room staff by calling 1-800-397-4209.NRC NEWSU.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONOffice of Public Affairs Region IV612 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 400Arlington, TX 76011-4125Telephone: (817) 860-8128Site: www.nrc.govBlog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov
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