NRC Staff Supports Crystal River Exemptions

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff recommended the Commission approve the exemptions requests for reduced emergency preparedness and security at Duke Energy’s Crystal River Nuclear Plant, according to a Staff paper released yesterday. Citing the decreased risk of a shutdown reactor in comparison to an operating one, the Staff found that public safety would not be reduced should the Commission approve the changes. The Commission earlier this year already approved a similar exemption request at the Kewaunee Power Station in Wisconsin. “The exemption request is consistent with previously granted exemptions and SECY-14-0066 for the Kewaunee Power Station, and is commensurate with the risk associated with the facility,” the Staff said in its paper. “The changes in regulatory requirements are appropriate because the traditional accident sequences that dominate operating reactor risk are no longer applicable. Continued application of the regulation to the licensee, to maintain its current level of EP, is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the regulation.”