Georgia Power's parent company will decide by next August whether to file for an early site permit to build another nuclear reactor in Burke County.

That permit would let them do site research to see if a new reactor is feasible.

Facilities like Plant Vogtle are a lightning rod for controversy and environmental groups are already citing safety concerns.

There has been only one minor incident in the plant's 18 years of operation.

But environmentalists say it's not the big accidents they're concerned about -- it's the long-term effects of exposure to small doses of radiation coming from the plant.

The plant prepares for the worst just the same. Workers at Plant Vogtle conduct drills on a regular basis in their simulator. They're training for a worst case scenario and they use real-life disasters as part of the training.

"We would analyze events that occur even outside the U.S. and simulate those conditions in the simulator and also in the classroom," said Plant Vogtle Training Manager Bob Brown.

Workers at the plant go through 18-months of intense training before they ever step foot behind the controls... and they continue that training one week out of every seven.

"So they become very comfortable and confident in their response."

But it's not the big disasters that concern some environmental groups.
They're worried that small doses of radiation leaving the plant could cause health problems over time.

"It's that mystery. How much is to escape before it causes illness. That's the mystery," said Charles Utley of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense.

Plant Vogtle officials say boxes are constantly monitoring air and they also check soil and water for radiation -- both in the plant and in a 10 mile zone around the facility.

The findings have consistently been within Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidelines. If they weren't, plant officials say the NRC would shut the plant down.

"If they saw any indication whatsoever -- that's the NRC's charge -- to make certain that these plants operate safely and have no effect on the public," said Georgia Power spokeswoman Carol Boatright.

"What we're saying is why search for levels when we can just eliminate those levels by not producing it... because we do know it does have an effect," said Utley.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission say some radiation is released as a result of routine plant operation. They've set an acceptable guideline of exposure as 10 millirems each year. That's much less than the 360 millirems experts say we're exposed to from all other sources.

In it's latest report to the NRC for the third quarter of this year -- and for the past several years, Plant Vogtle has emitted levels a fraction above zero millirems. The safe standard is considered anything lower than 1-point-5 millirems.

Doctor William Dynan is using zebra fish to study the effects of radiation at the Medical College of Georgia. His group wants to determine if there's a safe dose for humans. Dynan says the NRC standards err on the side of caution.

"In practice, the regulatory standards for the public are set at a small fraction of the natural background radiation. So the excess risk, if there is excess risk, is quite small," Dr. Dynan said.

Environmental groups say they're also concerned about the Savannah River Site.

Just last month, workers found a small leak in one of the oldest radioactive waste tanks there.

SRS says the material never made it beyond the outside wall of the tank and caused no health or environmental concerns.

Before that incident, a member of the SRS Citizens Advisory Board says testing of the air, ground and water around SRS showed safe levels of radiation.

A cleanup of stored waste at SRS is slated to be finished by 2025.