NRC SEEKS COMMENT ON REACTOR ACCIDENT CONSEQUENCE RESEARCH;

PUBLIC MEETINGS FEB. 21, 22 IN VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on the draft report for 

the State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA) research study. The SOARCA 

team will meet in late February with residents near the two plants analyzed in the effort.

SOARCA analyzed the potential consequences of severe accidents at the Surry Power 

Station near Surry, Va. and the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station near Delta, Pa. The project, 

which began in 2007, combined up-to-date information about the plants’ layout and operations 

with local population data and emergency preparedness plans. This information was then 

analyzed using state-of-the-art computer codes that incorporate decades of research into severe 

reactor accidents. 

SOARCA’s main findings fall into three basic areas: how a reactor accident progresses; 

how existing systems and emergency measures can affect an accident’s outcome; and how an 

accident would affect the public’s health. The project’s preliminary findings include:

• Existing resources and procedures can stop an accident, slow it down or reduce its impact 

before it can affect the public;

• Even if accidents proceed uncontrolled, they take much longer to happen and release 

much less radioactive material than earlier analyses suggested; and

• The analyzed accidents would cause essentially zero immediate deaths and only a very, 

very small increase in the risk of long-term cancer deaths.

The SOARCA team will meet with the public on Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the 

Surry County Courthouse, 45 School St. in Surry, Va. The team will also meet with the public on 

Wednesday, Feb. 22 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Peach Bottom Inn, 6085 Delta Road in Delta, Pa. 

The team will present the project’s findings, answer questions and take comments on the draft 

report.

The main SOARCA report, including an appendix discussing the accident at the 

Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan, is available in the NRC’s electronic documents 

database, ADAMS, by entering ML120250406 in the ADAMS search engine. Supporting 

technical information regarding the Peach Bottom analysis is available by entering 

ML120260675, and supporting technical information regarding the Surry analysis is available by 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. 12-011 February 1, 2012
entering ML120260681. A brochure that describes the research for a general audience is 

available by entering ML12026A470.

The NRC will take comments on the draft SOARCA report through March 1. Comments 

can be submitted using the regulations.gov website, using Docket ID NRC-2012-0022. 

Comments can also be mailed, referencing the Docket ID, to Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 

Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWB-05-

B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Comments can also 

be faxed to RADB at 301-492-3446, referencing the Docket ID.

Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted on the NRC Web site 

and on regulations.gov. The agency will not edit or remove any identifying or contact 

information; the NRC cautions commenters against including any information they wish to keep 

private.

The NRC staff will consider the comments in finalizing the SOARCA report for 

submission to the Commission later this year. 

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