The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission scheduled an open house and meeting for Wednesday, April 11 to discuss the agency's assessment of safety performance for the Robinson nuclear power plant during 2011.

The Robinson plant, which is operated by Progress Energy, is near Hartsville.

An open house and poster session is scheduled from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Hartsville Public Library, 147 W. College Ave. NRC staff members will be available to answer questions and discuss the plant's performance last year, as well as the agency's oversight and inspection. The open house will be followed by a short presentation and a question and answer session.

The NRC staff concluded the Robinson plant operated safely in 2011 and will receive normal detailed baseline oversight and inspection efforts. The most recent inspection findings and performance indicators at the plant were "green," meaning they had very low safety significance.

Some issues identified in late 2010 caused the plant to be subject to increased NRC oversight for the first three quarters of 2011, but NRC inspections found the plant effectively corrected those issues and returned to normal oversight. In addition to normal oversight activities, the NRC will monitor implementation of new emergency operating procedures

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess plant performance. The colors start with "green," and escalate to "white," "yellow" or "red," based on the significance of the issues. Inspection findings and performance indicators are updated on the NRC's website each quarter.

"During 2011, our inspectors spent many hours ensuring that the Robinson plant met NRC safety requirements and protected both people living near the plant and the environment," said Victor McCree, NRC Region II Administrator in a press release.

NRC inspectors also looked at whether there were immediate safety concerns at Robinson and other U.S. plants after the March 2011 events at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. Those reviews found that the plants remained safe.

The annual assessment letter for the Robinson plant is available here.