Point Beach Showing Signs of Improvement: Nuclear Plant May Soon Face Less Intense Scrutiny
Posted on: Saturday, 18 March 2006, 03:03 CST
By Thomas Content, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Mar. 18--The Point Beach nuclear plant is improving its operational performance, and the plant will face less intensive oversight from federal regulators as a result, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says.
The plant became the only nuclear power plant in the nation to be cited with two serious safety violations, after the agency found a variety of problems with a backup cooling system in 2001and 2002. It is one of two nuclear plants in the nation undergoing such intense NRC scrutiny.
"The Point Beach plant continues to operate safely," James Caldwell, Nuclear Regulatory Commission regional administrator, said in a statement. "While it has been under heightened NRC scrutiny since 2003 as a result of significant safety issues with a backup cooling system, we have seen improvements in performance during the past year."
A pattern of problems at Point Beach several years ago prompted an intense review of the plant the agency, and a series of stepped-up inspections.
Wisconsin Energy Corp., which owns the plant, named a new manager for the plant in 2004, and the company at that time detailed a series of 143 improvements it planned to make.
Making changes
Over the last two years, the plant has been implementing the promised improvements.
The plant completed its final commitment to the commission last fall, but it is awaiting final approval from regulators that the plant has done everything necessary, Wisconsin Energy Chairman and CEO Gale Klappa told investors last month during a conference call.
As a result of improved performance, the plant will face less intensive oversight in certain areas, the NRC said. Improvements in 2005 were identified in how the staff identifies and solves problems and the performance of workers.
Meeting scheduled
The NRC has scheduled a meeting on Thursday in Two Creeks to discuss Point Beach's performance. Depending on how that meeting goes, the agency could issue a final sign-off that would mean fewer extra inspections at the plant, agency spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng said.
That meeting "will give us an opportunity for us to ask questions and see if everything the company says makes sense to us," she said.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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