No. II-10-021 April 12, 2010 

CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

 Joey Ledford (404) 562-4416 

NRC SCHEDULES MEETING TO DISCUSS 

2009 PERFORMANCE OF ROBINSON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have scheduled a meeting on Wednesday, 

April 21 to provide information on the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the 

Robinson nuclear power plant during 2009. 

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with a brief presentation in the Hartsville 

Public Library at 147 West College Avenue in Hartsville, S.C. Agency officials will discuss the 

plant’s performance last year as well as NRC oversight and inspection. The presentation will be 

followed by a question and answer session. 

The Robinson plant, which has one pressurized-water reactor, is located near Hartsville, 

S.C., about 26 miles northwest of Florence. It is owned and operated by Progress Energy. 

Overall, the NRC staff concluded that the Robinson plant operated safely in 2009, and 

there were no inspection findings or performance indicators that would cause the NRC to 

increase its level of oversight and inspection. Based on the plant’s performance, the NRC staff 

plans to continue the detailed routine or baseline inspections all nuclear power plants receive. 

A recent fire at the Robinson plant led to an NRC special inspection, which is still 

underway. The results of that inspection will be announced when it is completed. 

“Every year, the NRC evaluates the safety performance of nuclear plants in a systematic 

and detailed way. These reviews allow us to respond to ongoing issues, if needed, and to plan our 

future inspections,” NRC Region II Administrator Luis Reyes said. “This meeting gives local 

officials and citizens an opportunity to learn more about our oversight and is consistent with our 

commitment to openness and transparency.” 

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess plant 

performance. The colors start with “green,” which has very low safety significance, to “white,” 

NRC NEWS

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“yellow” or “red,” based on the significance of the issues. Inspection findings and performance 

indicators are updated on the NRC’s web site (www.nrc.gov) each quarter. 

The annual assessment letter for the Robinson plant is available on the NRC web site at 

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/rob_2009q4.pdf. 

Routine inspections are carried out by the NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant 

and by inspection specialists from the Region II office in Atlanta. Among the areas at the 

Robinson plant to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are groundwater protection, 

dissimilar metal welds and operator licensing exams. 

Current performance information for Robinson is available on the NRC web site at 

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/ROB2/rob2_chart.html. 

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