The public will have a chance to hear about Three Mile Island's safety performance in 2011 during an open house held by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday.

NRC staff, which oversee the plant for the federal government, will discuss their annual assessment of the plant at the Londonderry Township building, 748 S. Geyers Church Road in Middletown.

Members of the public can also discuss plant-related topics on a one-on-one basis with NRC inspectors assigned to the plant and their supervisor.

Owned and operated by Exelon Nuclear, the plant operated safely overall during 2011, the assessment found.

Few problems: There were no "performance indicators," or incidents, for the plant that were other than the agency's "green" level, which is an incident of very low safety significance, the NRC reported.

Routine inspections are carried out by the two on-site inspectors assigned to the plant, as well as inspection specialists from the agency's Region I office in King of Prussia.

Areas of interest include emergency preparedness, radiological safety, the plant's problem identification and resolution program, and preventive maintenance.

After the release of the annual reports every March, the NRC meets with the public at each plant to discuss the results.

Last year, the oversight agency devoted approximately 5,160 hours of inspection to the facility and "kept close watch on a daily basis to ensure there were no safety issues of significance," said NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean.

In addition to normal duties, NRC inspectors looked into whether there were any immediate safety concerns at plants such as TMI after a meltdown at a Japanese plant after an earthquake and tsunami.

The annual assessment for the Three Mile Island is available on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/tmi_2011q4.pdf .

-- Reach Christina Kauff man at 505-5436, ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com, or follow her on Twitter at @YDYorkCounty.

NRC meeting

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold an open house to discuss Three Mile Island's safety performance in 2011. The meeting will be 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Londonderry Township Municipal Building, 748 S. Geyers Church Road in Middletown.