About 400 residents attend Exelon Nuclear's "Community Information Night"
Exelon opened up the Limerick Generating Station’s learning center for a community open house on Wednesday night. Exelon employees spent the evening greeting area residents and answering questions, with the recent shutdowns at the plant a popular topic.
Employees were stationed at tables set up around the room, representing the different departments at the plant. Attendees visited displays on plant operations and training, plant safety, industrial safety, emergency preparedness, nuclear careers, equipment upgrades and plant security.
Gene DiPaolo and Nicole Sieller, the plant’s resident inspectors, were at the event representing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. There were also representatives from PA Energy Alliance, a grassroots organization that supports nuclear energy as a source of power for communities.
Montgomery County Community College had assistant professor of engineering H. Thomas Tucker, Jr., in attendance to talk to people about MCCC’s associate’s degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology. The program, developed by MCCC in conjunction with Exelon, is a two-year degree that prepares students to work in the nuclear industry.
Exelon provided tours of their simulation control room, where plant operators are trained. The tours filled up quickly with attendees who were interested in seeing what the plant’s controls look like.
Senior Vice President Bill Maguire spoke for several minutes, and then took public questions during what became an hour-long Q&A session.
One attendee questioned Maguire on the plant’s performance in light of the recent scrams at the plant. Maguire said, “Before the recent shutdowns, we were probably one of the top performers nationally. Since the scrams, performance is still high but we are working hard on the necessary corrective actions.”
Exelon communications specialist Amanda Varone, the organizer of the event, said that there were probably 350-400 people attending.
Maguire told Patch that he was very pleased with the turnout.
“Last year, we had this at a local country club and we had maybe 60 people show up. This event is great," Maguire said.
