Thursday, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, testified before a House subcommittee about three U.S. nuclear power plants that are getting extra attention from federal regulators.
Jaczko told House members that three plants - in South Carolina, Kansas and Nebraska - are getting more intensive review because of problems with safety systems or unplanned shutdowns.
The South Carolina plant is HB Robinson in Hartsville.
We spoke with Joey Ledford, an NRC spokesman for Robinson's region. Ledford said the increased oversight mentioned in Washington Thursday by Jaczko is not in addition to what's already happening at the HB Robinson plant. Jaczko was just updating House members on what the NRC is currently doing.
The NRC was in Hartvsille one week ago to share with residents how it's responding to three incidents at the Robinson plant in 2010.
The NRC told residents that although the plant operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety, the agency would increase oversight and conduct a series of inspections at the plant. NRC spokesman Rick Croteau said at the meeting that inspections could take place in late May or early June.
Jaczko stressed in Washington that the three plants are operating safely, but they are "the ones we are most concerned about" among the 65 nuclear plants in the U.S.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
