NRC Schedules Virtual Meeting to Discuss 2019 Safety Performance of Farley and Hatch Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Press Release
No: II-20-008 April 14, 2020
Contact: Roger Hannah, 404-997-4417

NRC Schedules Virtual Meeting to Discuss 2019 Safety Performance of Farley and Hatch Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss the 2019 safety performance of the Farley and Hatch nuclear power plants during a virtual meeting scheduled for April 21.

The two-unit Farley plant is located in southern Alabama and the two-unit Hatch plant is in southern Georgia. Both nuclear power plants are operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Co.

The session will be held from 4-5:30 p.m., Eastern Time, with NRC employees participating who are responsible for plant inspections, including the resident inspectors based at the site.

The meeting will be accessible to the public and media via Skype. For individuals without access to Skype, the telephone conference number is 301-415-0333, passcode 68905#.

The NRC determined that the Farley and Hatch plants operated safely during 2019 and all inspection findings and performance indicators had very low safety significance. As a result, both plants remain under the NRC’s normal level of oversight.

The NRC Reactor Oversight Process, which requires thousands of hours of inspection each year, uses color-coded inspection findings and indicators to measure plant performance.

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 the Farley and Hatch plants are performed by NRC resident inspectors and other inspection specialists from the NRC Region II office in Atlanta.

The annual assessment letters for the Farley plant and the Hatch plant, which include upcoming inspection plans for the plants, are available on the NRC website. Current performance information for Farley Unit 1, Farley Unit 2, Hatch Unit 1, and Hatch Unit 2 is also available and is updated on a quarterly basis.

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