No. II-12-003 March 20, 2012

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

 Joey Ledford (404) 562-4416

NRC SCHEDULES MEETINGS TO DISCUSS VOGTLE NUCLEAR 

PLANT PERFORMANCE AND CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION FOR NEW UNITS

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have scheduled an open house for

Thursday, March 29 to provide information on the agency’s assessment of the two operating

units at the Vogtle nuclear power plant during 2011. The NRC will also provide a presentation 

on the agency’s inspection of construction activities for the two new Vogtle units. 

The informal open house and poster session is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the 

auditorium of the Augusta Technical College’s Waynesboro Campus, located at 216 Georgia 

Highway 24 S in Waynesboro. The NRC staff will be available to answer questions about the 

safety performance of Vogtle Units 1 and 2 as well as overall NRC oversight and inspection. A 

presentation on inspection and oversight of Units 3 and 4, now under construction, is scheduled 

to begin at 7 p.m. in the same auditorium and will be followed by a question and answer session.

The Vogtle plant is located near Waynesboro, about 26 miles southeast of Augusta. It is 

owned and operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Co.

Overall, the NRC staff concluded that Vogtle Units 1 and 2 operated safely in 2011, 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. 

“The NRC continually evaluates nuclear plants in a detailed and systematic fashion,” said 

NRC Region II Administrator Victor McCree. “Although we issue inspection reports throughout 

the year, in early March we send a letter to every plant providing an assessment of how well each 

unit did in meeting NRC safety requirements during the previous calendar year.”

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

operating plant performance. The colors start with “green,” which has very low safety 

significance, to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” based on the significance of the issues. Inspection 

findings and performance indicators are updated on the NRC’s website (www.nrc.gov ) each

quarter. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region II

245 Peachtree Center Ave., NE, Suite 2000, Atlanta GA 30303

Web Site: www.nrc.gov
The annual assessment letter for Vogtle Units 1 and 2 is available on the NRC website at 

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/vog_2011q4.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. 

Current performance information for Vogtle Unit 1 is available on the NRC website at:

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/VOG1/vog1_chart.html. Unit 2 is at 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/VOG2/vog2_chart.html .

The NRC performance review of Vogtle site construction found that, overall, Southern 

and its contractors conducted construction activities in compliance with NRC regulations and the 

conditions of the plant’s combined license. Based on that assessment, the NRC will not expand 

its activities beyond detailed inspections planned and currently being conducted.

The annual assessment letter for the Vogtle construction inspection and oversight process 

is available from the ADAMS public document system on the NRC website by using the 

reference number ML12065A385. 

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