No. II-11-008 March 17, 2011

CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

 Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416

NRC SCHEDULES MEETING TO DISCUSS 

2010 PERFORMANCE OF ROBINSON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have scheduled a meeting for Thursday, 

March 24 to provide information on the agency’s assessment of safety performance at the 

Robinson nuclear power plant during 2010.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. EDT with a discussion of last year’s safety 

performance as well as NRC oversight and inspection. The meeting will be held at the Coker 

College Library’s Daniels Boardroom at 300 E. College Ave., in Hartsville, S.C. The 

presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

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

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 2010. 

However, the NRC has decided to increase its level of oversight and inspection at the Robinson 

plant based on inspection findings and performance indicators.

Robinson exceeded the threshold for unplanned reactor shutdowns during the year’s third 

quarter, which resulted in a “white” performance indicator. In addition, there were three “white” 

inspection findings at the plant. “White” means a finding of low to moderate safety significance. 

The first “white” finding involved the failure to correct a problem with an emergency diesel 

generator.

The second and third “white” findings were identified after an NRC Augmented 

Inspection. The second involved the licensee’s failure to adequately design and implement 

operator training associated with reactor coolant pump seals. The third finding was related to a 

failure to adequately implement required procedures following a reactor trip in March.

“The NRC evaluates nuclear power plants in a systematic and detailed way each year,” 

said NRC Region II Administrator Victor McCree. “These reviews and the additional inspections 

and oversight at Robinson will ensure that the plant is operated in a way that protects people near 

the plant and the environment.”

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region II

61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303

Web Site: www.nrc.gov
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,” 

“yellow” and “red,” based on increasing 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_2010q4.pdf. 

Inspections are carried out by the NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant and by 

inspection specialists from the Region II office in Atlanta. A series of regular and supplemental 

NRC inspections have been scheduled for the Robinson plant this year, and the results of those 

inspections will be documented in publicly available inspection reports.

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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