The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's performance indicator program for operating nuclear power plants

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently established a Performance Indicator (PI) Program for operating nuclear power plants. The aim of the Program is to provide an objective and timely view of operational safety performance and thereby enhance the NRC's ability to more promptly recognize the emerging performance trends of individual plants. It is important to recognize, however, that the Program is only a tool and is used in conjunction with other tools for providing input to NRC management decisions regarding the need to adjust plant specific regulatory programmes. The paper describes the development of the PI Program, the status of its implementation and its usage in the NRC regulatory process. (author). 1 ref., 3 figs