Pope County court hears NRC inspection report, honors EMS personnel for lifesaving response

The Pope County Quorum Court on the evening of its April meeting received the Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC) resident inspectors' annual assessment of Arkansas Nuclear One and recognized two local EMS workers for a life-saving response.

Art Mandu, an NRC resident inspector assigned to Arkansas Nuclear One, told the court that NRC oversight uses baseline inspections and performance indicators to evaluate safety. "For 2025 there were only green performance indicators and only green inspection findings," Mandu said, adding that NRC's assessment supports a column 1, or licensee-response, regulatory posture for the plant in 2025. "Energy Nuclear operated the plant safely and in a manner that preserved the public health and safety and protected the environment," he said.

The report matters locally because the court and community host Arkansas Nuclear One and officials said NRC oversight provides independent verification of safety practices at the site. "The NRC's mission is the safe and secure use of civilian nuclear energy technologies," Mandu said, describing how inspectors verify licensee reporting and conduct baseline inspections across areas such as fire protection, physical and cyber security, and operator licensing.

Doug Pearson, identified by the court as ANO's site vice president for Energy, thanked the NRC inspectors for their work and noted a cooperative relationship between the operator and inspectors.

Earlier in the meeting, Pope County EMS Director Dale Safo asked the court to recognize two personnel who responded to an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and said their training and dedication helped return the patient to health. "Because of their training, their skills, their dedication, another life was saved right here in our community," Safo said, naming paramedic Sabrina Wooten and EMT Casease (transcript spelling).

Safo said he could not provide patient details for privacy reasons but invited family to join the honorees for a photograph and asked the court to extend appreciation. The court applauded the personnel and posed for photos.

The meeting continued with routine business after the presentations; no formal action was taken regarding the NRC report during the session. The court adjourned at 5:53 p.m.