Press Release-II-12-011, NRC Schedules Open House and Meeting to Discuss Annual Assessment of Robinson Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-II-12-011: NRC Schedules Open House and Meeting to Discuss Annual Assessment of Robinson Nuclear Power Plant

ML12107A408
Person / Time
Site:	Robinson
Issue date:	04/05/2012
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-02-011
Download: ML12107A408 (1)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 245 Peachtree Center Ave. NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30303-1257 Web Site: www.nrc.gov No. II-12-011 April 5, 2012 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 NRC SCHEDULES OPEN HOUSE AND MEETING TO DISCUSS ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF ROBINSON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have scheduled an open house and meeting for Wednesday, April 11 to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance for the Robinson nuclear power plant during 2011. The Robinson plant, which is operated by Progress Energy, is located near Hartsville, S.C., about 26 miles northwest of Florence.

An open house and poster session is scheduled from 2 to 3 p.m. EDT in the Hartsville Public Library, 147 W. College Ave. in Hartsville. NRC staff members will be available to answer questions and discuss the plants performance last year as well as the agencys oversight and inspection. The open house will be followed by a short presentation and a question and answer session.

Overall, the NRC staff concluded that the Robinson plant operated safely in 2011 and will receive normal detailed baseline oversight and inspection efforts. The most recent inspection findings and performance indicators at the plant were green, meaning they had very low safety significance.

Some issues identified in late 2010 caused the plant to be subject to increased NRC oversight for the first three quarters of 2011, but NRC inspections found that the plant had effectively corrected those issues and returned to normal oversight. In addition to normal oversight activities, the NRC will monitor implementation of new emergency operating procedures.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess plant performance. The colors start with green, and escalate to white, yellow or red, based on the significance of the issues. Inspection findings and performance indicators are updated on the NRCs web site (www.nrc.gov) each quarter.

During 2011, our inspectors spent many hours ensuring that the Robinson plant met NRC safety requirements and protected both people living near the plant and the environment, NRC Region II Administrator Victor McCree said.

NRC inspectors also looked at whether there were immediate safety concerns at Robinson and other U.S. plants after the March 2011 events at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. Those reviews found that the plants remained safe.

The annual assessment letter for the Robinson plant is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/rob_2011q4.pdf.

Routine inspections are carried out by the NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region II office in Atlanta. Among the areas at the Robinson plant to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are underground piping and operator licensing examinations.

Current performance information for Robinson is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/ROB2/rob2_chart.html.

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