Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following announcement on April 18.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss the 2017 safety performance of the Vogtle nuclear power
plant’s two operating units and the agency’s assessment of the two units under construction during an open
house on April 26 in the auditorium at Augusta Technical College’s Waynesboro Campus, 216 Highway 24
South in Waynesboro, Ga.
The plant, operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Co., is near Waynesboro, about 26 miles southeast of
Augusta, Ga.
The open house will run from 6-7 p.m., and NRC employees responsible for both operating and construction
inspections, including the resident inspectors based full-time at the site, will be available to discuss the
agency’s assessments.
The NRC concluded that the Vogtle plant’s operating Units 1 and 2 operated safely during 2017. At the end of
the year, all inspection findings and performance indicators on both units were green or of very low safety
significance. As a result, the plant’s operating units remain under the NRC’s normal level of oversight, which
entails thousands of hours of inspection each year.
Earlier in 2017, the plant was subject to additional oversight for a white finding of low to moderate safety
significance related to incorrect radiological release values in the plant’s emergency procedures. An NRC
inspection verified that the issue had been adequately addressed and the plant returned to normal oversight in
October. In addition, the NRC issued violations to the plant in February 2018 for some non-licensed operators
that had not completed rounds, but indicated that they had done so. The NRC plans to inspect the company’s
actions to address those violations.
The NRC Reactor Oversight Process uses color-coded inspection findings and indicators to measure plant
performance for operating units. 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 at Vogtle Unit 1 and 2 are performed by two NRC resident inspectors and inspection specialists
from the NRC Region II office in Atlanta.
The NRC concluded that activities at the plant’s units under construction, Units 3 and 4, met
NRC requirements and all inspection findings were green or of very low safety significance. As a result, those
units remain under the NRC’s normal level of oversight for nuclear plants under construction, and inspections
are performed by five NRC resident inspectors and construction inspection specialists from the NRC Region II
office in Atlanta.
The annual assessment letter for Units 1 and 2 at the Vogtle plant, as well as the notice for the open house,
are available on the NRC website. Current performance information for Unit 1 and Unit 2 is also available.
The annual assessment letter for Units 3 and 4 at the Vogtle plant, as well as the notice for the construction
portion of the open house, are also available on the NRC website.
Original source can be found here.
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