NRC boosts oversight at Millstone station after 'green' finding

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has placed the Millstone Power Station under increased oversight after a recent NRC inspection yielded a finding of “greater than green."

In November, the NRC issued the report after a security baseline plant inspection. Millstone’s operator, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., participated in a closed conference on the report at NRC’s Region I Office in February.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection ratings and performance indicators that escalate from green to white, yellow and red. The codes indicate the safety level of the issue.

The NRC’s color-coded action matrix reflects overall plant performance and agency response, with the first column requiring a baseline level of inspections. If a plant slips into another column, an increased level of NRC oversight and inspections will follow until the agency regains confidence in the plant’s ability to perform safely.

“The NRC will have to determine the most appropriate response with respect to inspections and follow-up reviews, based on the significance of the finding,” NRC Region I Administrator Dan Dorman said. “It should be noted that the security of the plant is not in question and, indeed, our inspectors checked that compensatory measures were implemented before leaving the site.”

The Millstone Unit 3 nuclear operating station had been under NRC oversight from May 2013 through February 2014 due to problems that affected the plant’s turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump.