NRC to hold meeting on Arkansas Nuclear One plant's performance review

Contributed photo

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) scheduled a meeting with officials from Entergy Operations, which operates the Arkansas Nuclear One station in Russellville, to discuss the plant’s safety performance during 2015.

The meeting will take place 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in the Reeves E. Richie Training Center, 1448 S.R. 333, in Russellville. Attendees will be able to ask questions and offer comments when the business portion of the meeting concludes.

“By assessing each plant’s performance in a comprehensive manner, we are able to focus our inspection resources on those areas most in need of attention,” NRC Region IV Administrator Marc Dapas said. “Overall, the plant operated safely in 2015. However, Arkansas Nuclear One is receiving the highest level of NRC oversight because of the significance of previously issued inspection findings.”

The NRC uses a color-based evaluation system for its inspection findings and performance indicators, with green being associated with low safety significance and the scale progressing to white, yellow and red. In June 2014, the NRC determined that a 2013 incident involving heavy-equipment handling merited a yellow finding. Additionally, the plant earned another yellow finding in January 2015 due to degraded flood protection.