Press Release-II-13-054, NRC Finalizes White Finding and Issues Violation at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-II-13-054: NRC Finalizes White Finding and Issues Violation at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant

ML13238A132
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	08/26/2013
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-13-054
Download: ML13238A132 (1)

Text

No: II-13-054 August 26, 2013 CONTACT: Roger Hannah 404-997-4417 Joey Ledford 404-997-4416 NRC Finalizes White Finding and Issues Violation at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that an inspection finding at the Tennessee Valley Authoritys Browns Ferry nuclear power plant has low to moderate safety significance, and has cited TVA for not following its procedures. The event last December led to an automatic shutdown of Unit 2.

The Browns Ferry plant is near Athens, Ala., about 32 miles west of Huntsville.

The event was discussed during an NRC regulatory conference on July 24. After considering the NRC analysis as well as information presented by TVA at the conference, the NRC concluded that the failure by a TVA operator to follow procedures should be classified as white, or having low to moderate safety significance. Since Browns Ferry Unit 2 is already under increased NRC oversight, the finding will not change the level of oversight, but the agency will conduct a supplemental inspection to ensure TVA understands the cause and extent of the issue and has taken appropriate corrective actions.

Following procedures is extremely important in nuclear power plants and TVA is making changes in the way procedures are implemented to provide the right checks and balances, said Victor McCree, NRC Region II Administrator. We will review those changes to make sure the underlying issues have been addressed in a comprehensive way.

The NRC sent a letter to TVA with the final significance determination and notice of violation and that letter will be available on the NRC website or you may receive a copy by contacting the Region Office of Public Affairs at the email address above. An NRC inspection report discusses the finding in more detail.