NRC assessment finds that Perry Nuclear Power Plant operated safely in 2021

May 20—The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a favorable evaluation of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant's efforts to operate safely in 2021.

That conclusion was reached through the NRC's annual safety performance assessment of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, which is located in North Perry Village.

NRC administrators and inspectors discussed the results of that appraisal during a town-hall meeting held May 19 at the Perry Public Library in Perry Village.

Each year, the NRC issues an annual assessment of the power plant's safety performance in areas such as security, radiation detection, engineering, chemistry and training.

"The NRC determined that Perry Nuclear Power Plant operated safely during 2021," said Viktoria Mitlyng, senior public affairs officer for the federal agency.

Color-coded inspection findings and indicators are used to measure aspects of plant safety performance. Green is the most desirable rating, while designations going from white to yellow to red are issued for issues of increasing safety significance.

All of Perry's 2021 inspection findings and performance indicators were green.

"That means in 2022, Perry will receive normal oversight from the NRC," Mitlyng said. "If there were issues of greater significance identified, the NRC would do more inspection."

Inspections at the plant are performed by two full-time NRC inspectors assigned specifically to that location. More assistance is provided by other specialists from the agency who are dispatched to do evaluations as requested or needed.

The NRC's two resident inspectors at Perry, Jakob Steffes and Ty Ospino, both were on hand for the May 19 meeting.

"Between Ty and myself, and other supplemental folks who come out and give us a hand, we generally perform about 2,500 inspection hours per year on site (at Perry)," Steffes said.

As resident inspectors, Steffes and Ospino handle an array of duties, including attending meetings during which plant managers outline work activities for a given day; touring the plant's control room to ensure that systems are aligned and programmed correctly; checking the condition of plant components and equipment; and seeing how plant employees are conducting their duties.

"We could go in the field and watch them perform maintenance, standing over their shoulder, making sure we've got a good idea of what they're doing and how they are doing it," Steffes said.

Perry Nuclear Power Plant is owned by Energy Harbor Corp.