NRC hosting Oconee nuclear plant open house on April 14

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold an open house to brief the public on the agency’s 2014 assessment of the Oconee nuclear plant in South Carolina, on Tuesday. 

The open house is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Oconee World of Energy, 7812 Rochester Highway in Seneca.  

The event will feature informational posters, and NRC staff will be available to answer questions about the safety performance of the three plant units, as well as the agency’s oversight and inspection.

Duke Energy operates the Oconee plant, which is near Seneca, about 30 miles west of Greenville.

Except for one minor violation, the NRC said the Oconee plant operated safely in 2014. The one issue was the company’s failure to identify and correct a crack in a weld on a key safety system in Unit 1. Duke fixed the problem, and all three units have returned to normal oversight.

The three Oconee units will continue to be inspected, the NRC practice at all nuclear power plants.

“NRC inspectors continually evaluate each nuclear plant’s safety, and each year we take a detailed look at that information to identify any trends and help plan future inspections,” NRC Region II Administrator Victor McCree said. “Inspection results are available throughout the year, but these annual meetings allow us to talk to local residents and answer any questions they may have.”

The annual assessment letter for the Oconee plant and current performance information for its three units is available on the NRC website at www.nrc.gov.