NRC to hold open house on Peach Bottom nuclear plant review

Peach Bottom nuclear plant
Peach Bottom nuclear plant | Courtesy of Exelon Corp.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public open house today on its 2015 performance review of the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant near Delta, Pennsylvania.

Attendees can learn about the plant's safety and other performance factors from last year, as well as oversight plans for 2016, from NRC staff and the plant's resident inspectors, who will be present.

The open house runs from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Peach Bottom Inn, 6085 Delta Road, in Delta.

NRC Region 1 administrator Dan Dorman spoke about the purpose of the assessments.

"Our annual assessments allow us to step back at regular intervals and size up plant performance," Dorman said. “In the case of Peach Bottom, the plant’s current performance qualifies for our normal level of oversight.”

The 2015 review from NRC found that the Peach Bottom plant, which houses two reactors that are owned and operated by Exelon, operated safely during 2015 and that inspections on Units 2 and 3 yielded green indicators, which signify very low safety concerns.

The inspections by the NRC are conducted twice annually, and review grades are posted on the agency's website. Annual assessment letters are issued in March, then the NRC meets with the public at open houses to go over the details.

This year, the Peach Bottom plant will be inspected in the areas of radiological controls, safety, emergency planning and the plant's dry-cask storage facility.