NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION: NRC to Hold Open House to Discuss 2017 Performance of Hatch Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following announcement on April 16.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss the 2017 safety performance of the Hatch nuclear power 

plant, operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Co., during an open house on April 24 in Room 171 of the 

Southeastern Technical College, 3001 East First St., Vidalia, Ga. The two-unit Hatch plant is located near 

Baxley, about 20 miles south of Vidalia.

The open house will run from 4-6 p.m., and NRC employees responsible for plant inspections, including the 

resident inspectors based full-time at the site, will be available to discuss its performance.

The NRC concluded that the Hatch plant operated safely during 2017. At the end of the year, all inspection 

findings and performance indicators were green or of low safety significance. As a result, Hatch remains under

the NRC’s normal level of oversight, which entails thousands of hours of inspection each year.

The NRC Reactor Oversight Process uses color-coded inspection findings and indicators to measure plant 

performance. The colors start at green and increase to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety 

significance of the issues involved. Inspection findings or performance indicators with more than very low 

safety significance trigger increased NRC oversight.

Inspections are performed by two NRC resident inspectors and inspection specialists from the NRC Region II 

office in Atlanta.

The annual assessment letter for the Hatch plant, as well as the notice for the open house, are available on 

the NRC website. Current performance information for Hatch Unit 1 and Unit 2 is also available.

Original source can be found here.