Progress Energy granted NewsChannel 15 access inside its nuclear power plant near Hartsville.

As cars enter the grounds of the HB Robinson Nuclear Power Plant, they're screened by security. The driver and passengers must present drivers licenses.

"Before any visitors, or workers, contractors, employees have access to the plant that we have pre-screened them to make sure that they've backgrounds are appropriate," said Tom Cosgrove, Robinson Plant Manager.

Once inside, armed personnel scan everything before you enter the protected areas of the plant. Your hands and shoes are checked for contamination in highly radioactive areas of the plant, including the used nuclear fuel storage area. Plant officials say they make sure the fuel is shielded and contained to protect the public.

"Our spent fuel doesn't go up in a smoke stack like in a fossil condition, so we don't create emissions that are harmful to the environment. All that nuclear fuel is contained in either the water environment or dry cast storage environment, both of which are equally safe," said Bob Duncan, Vice President of the Robinson Plant.

Robinson has the capability and capacity to store the fuel for the license life of the plant which expires in 2031.

NewsChannel 15 got to look at the electrical distribution center where two fires happened last March

The fires led to a temporary shutdown and a series of inspections from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Robinson officials say the incident proved to be a turning point for them and their most recent inspection was favorable. The fires led to a temporary shutdown and a series of inspections from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Robinson officials say the incident proved to be a turning point for them and their most recent inspection was favorable.

Duncan said, "It allowed us to really begin our journey to recovery so they gave us an excellent report that identified the root causes that we created as a result of the investigations and the extended conditions all were good, no findings from the nuclear Regulatory Commission."

Since the fires last March, plant officials have upgraded equipment and operator training.

Officials say they're constantly learning from the events that happened in Japan and are reevaluating their seismic capacity and flooding analysis.