Press Release-II-13-030, NRC Schedules Open House to Discuss Annual Assessment of Oconee Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-II-13-030: NRC Schedules Open House to Discuss Annual Assessment of Oconee Nuclear Power Plant

ML13122A342
Person / Time
Site:	Oconee
Issue date:	05/02/2013
From:	Roger Hannah, Joey Ledford Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-13-030
Download: ML13122A342 (2)

Text

No: II-13-030 May 2, 2013 CONTACT: Roger Hannah, 404-997-4417 Joey Ledford, 404-997-4416 NRC Schedules Open House to Discuss Annual Assessment of Oconee Nuclear Power Plant The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled an open house for May 9 to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance during 2012 for the Oconee nuclear power plant. The plant, operated by Duke Energy, is near Seneca, S.C., about 30 miles west of Greenville.

The open house is scheduled to run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Oconee World of Energy, 7812 Rochester Highway in Seneca. There will be posters explaining the NRCs role and the NRC staff will be available to answer questions about the safety performance of the Oconee plant as well as overall NRC oversight and inspection.

Overall, the NRC staff concluded that all three units at the Oconee plant operated safely in 2012. There were no inspection findings or performance indicators that would cause the NRC to increase its level of oversight and inspection, so NRC inspectors will continue the detailed normal inspections at the plant this year.

In addition to those inspections, the NRC staff plans to conduct an inspection related to underground piping and conduct operator licensing examinations this year. NRC inspectors will also continue to inspect compensatory measures in place to mitigate potential flooding and will review modifications associated with protecting the plant in the event of fire, tornado or the break of high pressure steam pipes.

An apparent violation that did not occur during the 2012 assessment is still pending and could result in additional NRC regulatory actions. It is related to the plants transition to different fire protection requirements.

Inspections are carried out by the NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant and by specialized inspectors from the Region II office in Atlanta.

The NRC inspects nuclear plants and monitors their performance on an ongoing basis, said NRC Region II Administrator Victor McCree. We issue inspection reports throughout the year and we hold these annual meetings near each plant to discuss our oversight and answer any questions local residents may have.

Inspection findings and performance indicators for Oconee and other nuclear plants are updated on the NRC website each quarter.

The annual assessment letter for the three Oconee units is available on the NRC website.

Current performance information for Oconee Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3 is also available on the NRC website and that information is updated quarterly.

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