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July 2, 2009

NRC to discuss safety at nuclear plant

Federal regulators will meet with PPL Corp. representatives on Monday to discuss the company’s response to concerns about an atmosphere at the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Salem Township that deterred workers from reporting safety issues.

The public hearing will focus on changes the company promised U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials it would make to foster a “safety-conscious work environment … in which safety issues are promptly identified and effectively resolved and in which employees feel free to raise safety concerns without fear of retaliation,” according to the NRC.

The meeting will cover PPL’s progress in sustaining a suitable work environment at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, according to an NRC news release.

“Information provided by PPL at the July 6th meeting will help us better determine the course of our future inspection activities in this area,” Samuel J. Collins, the administrator for NRC Region I, was quoted as saying.

A Jan. 28, 2009, letter from the NRC to PPL noted concerns about a “chilling effect” on the work environment and required that PPL take action to change it. The company’s response outlined actions it planned to take, including defined time-off practices for maintenance outages and regular-operation periods, as well as standardizing overtime for certain worker classifications throughout the company.

Management decisions on those topics had been cited as primary causes of the work-environment issues. PPL is the 90 percent owner and operator of the Susquehanna plant.

The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. at the Susquehanna Energy Information Center at 634 Salem Blvd., Salem Township. The public will be able to ask questions during an hour-long informal session before the meeting and before the meeting is adjourned.

The NRC will again report on the station’s progress in its Mid-Year Assessment Letter for the plant, due in September.

The January letter was in response to an increase in allegations to the NRC from sources within the plant. In 2008, the NRC received 32 allegations. There were no more than 19 such allegations from any other plant in the nation.

Seven already have been received from Susquehanna this year, which ties it for sixth among the country’s 65 reactor sites. Limerick station outside of Philadelphia had the most allegations with 11.

If you go

Time: 4 p.m.

Date: Monday, July 6

Location: Susquehanna Energy Information Center at 634 Salem Blvd., Salem Township

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