Like most high school students, Casey Murphree wasn’t sure what the future would hold.
When she got a flyer at school that listed colleges and the programs they offered, one caught her eye. “At the time, Duke Energy had a two-year program in partnership with Spartanburg Community College,” she said. “At the end of it, you’d be a qualified radiation protection technician.”
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She was a natural. Her grandfather was in construction and helped build Oconee Nuclear Station. And her dad worked here as a valve technician. “Daddy told me all the cool things about the plant, and that got me interested,” she said.
After earning an associate’s degree in health physics, Murphree worked as a Duke Energy contractor for about five years before being hired full time in 2015. “That allowed me to travel to other plants,” she said. “I gained a lot of good experience from seeing how other plants operate.”
Her job entails “making sure workers are safe while in the radiation areas – and ensuring the public is safe, too.” It’s a job she loves, primarily for the opportunity to “learn something new every day.”
“Dosimetry” is a word you hear often in nuclear, and Murphree’s in charge of that program at Oconee. It’s the process of measuring and recording radiation exposure.
She’s always appreciated the flexibility Duke Energy allows her. She used to do shift work but said her team was “very accommodating” when she inquired about a different schedule.
Murphree also appreciates the opportunity to connect with area youth. “Oconee has lot of outreach projects, which I love,” she said. “We host lots of fun activities for kids; movie nights and trunk-or-treats, as well as other events in partnership with local schools and businesses.
“We’ve also taken our robotics dog – that can go into higher radiation fields to look for leaks – to high schools. Students love him.”