 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission keeps watch over the nation's nuclear power plants to make sure they're operating both safely and securely. Part of this oversight includes checking on whether a plant is adhering to strict federal requirements when it comes to releases of radioactivity. Small amounts of radioactivity in gaseous or liquid form, called effluents, are allowed to be released during normal plant operations. As long as they are below conservatively set levels, developed by the federal government to keep the public and the environment safe, the NRC conducts inspections to confirm these effluents are properly measured and recorded, and that they are within acceptable thresholds. Each plant must maintain an effluent and environmental monitoring program as required by its NRC-issued operating license to demonstrate its compliance. A plant's program can include such data-gathering as air, water, plant, soil, milk, fish and sediment sampling, along with measurements of direct radiation. So how exactly does the NRC determine if a plant is abiding by these requirements? By inspecting, at regular intervals, each plant's radiological environmental monitoring program, also known by the acronym REMP. To prepare for these assessments, NRC inspectors review the annual reports for each plant, as well as the results of any company assessment since the last inspection. In addition, the inspectors determine if the company is appropriately sampling for the correct radionuclides. They will also check on groundwater monitoring data, and they will evaluate in any changes to the plant and program since the previous review. As part of the inspection, NRC inspectors will visually assess multiple air sampling stations and other stations that measure radiation levels in certain areas. The goal is to make sure the monitoring equipment is correctly located, calibrated and maintained, and to ensure it is working as intended. These measurements are typically taken in several places, including near a plant's boundary, in the nearby community, and at a control location 15 to 30 miles away. Another activity involves observing how technicians collect and prepare samples from different environmental media. It's important to make sure the environmental sampling is representative of the pathways by which radioactivity can be released, and that sampling techniques are carried out properly. Collecting samples is no small task. Take vegetation. Technicians employed by the plant's owner may gather such crops as kale, brussel sprouts, collard greens, and cabbage. They do this from a garden operated by the plant and an area of farms, including one located at some distance to serve as a control location. The technician must follow carefully defined steps. These include properly cleaning equipment and containers used to hold the materials and carefully following procedures specifying how much is needed and how packaging is to be done. Technicians may also need to sample aquatic species, including gizzard shad, largemouth and smallmouth bass, channel catfish, white crappy bluegill, striped bass, walleye, and carp. Fish must be caught, pulled from the body of water, and analyzed in a lab. The NRC inspectors will ensure that the lab equipment used for this testing is working as required, properly calibrated, and operating consistent with quality control standards. Still another element of a plant's radiological effluent program is its use of meteorological instruments that check on weather conditions and the directions in which any airborne releases could travel. In general, each plant must track its effluence and report them to the NRC on an annual basis. The NRC reviews these reports and posts them to our website. By carrying out hands-on inspections and reviews of a plant's annual reports, the NRC ensures a nuclear power plant is adhering to the agency's stringent requirements, and by extension ensuring the safety of surrounding communities and their residents.