Home > Electronic Reading Room > Document Collections > News Releases > 1999 > 99-252

	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
	Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
	Washington, DC 20555-001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

No. 99-252

November 30, 1999

International Atomic Energy Agency Safety Review Team to Visit North Anna Nuclear Plant

At the invitation of the United States, a nuclear safety team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, will visit the North Anna Nuclear Station near Louisa, Virginia, from January 24 through February 10 to review operational safety practices.

The visit of an IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) will be the fourth to visit a commercial nuclear power plant in the United States. Such an IAEA team also has visited the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Maryland, in August of 1987, the Byron nuclear power plant in Illinois, in May of 1989, and the Grand Gulf facility in Mississippi, in August of 1992.

The purpose of the OSART program, established by the IAEA in 1982, is to assist Member States in enhancing the operational safety of nuclear power plants and to promote the continuous development of operational safety within all Member States by the dissemination of information on good practices.

The 11-member team will include nuclear experts from the IAEA staff and from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic. In addition, observers from Russia, Mexico and Switzerland will accompany the team.

The visit will provide team members with an opportunity to exchange safety ideas and experiences with their counterparts at the North Anna plant. The team's review will cover eight operating areas: management; training and qualification of control room staff, maintenance and radiation protection personnel; operating performance and procedures; maintenance programs; technical support programs; radiation protection; plant chemistry; and emergency planning and preparedness.

The team will subsequently produce a report identifying good practices, as well as suggesting possible safety improvements. The report will be provided to the operator of North Anna, Virginia Electric & Power Company, and the U.S. government.

Such OSART inspections are conducted around the world on a regular basis.

# # # # #