ML14022A098

Press Release-II-14-001: NRC Schedules Regulatory Performance Meeting for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant

ML14022A098
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	01/21/2014
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
References
Press Rleease-II-14-001
Download: ML14022A098 (1)

Text

No: II-14-001 January 21, 2014 CONTACT: Roger Hannah 404-997-4417 Joey Ledford 404-997-4416 NRC Schedules Regulatory Performance Meeting for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a public meeting for Thursday, Jan. 30, near the Browns Ferry nuclear plant to discuss the results of inspections stemming from a confirmatory action letter issued to the plant last year. The letter, issued Aug. 22, 2013, lists a number of actions committed to by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the . Those commitments are intended to ensure the continued improvement of , located near Athens, Ala., about 32 miles west of Huntsville. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST in the second floor conference room of the Clinton Street Courthouse Annex, 100 S. Clinton St., in Athens. NRC officials, who will take questions from the public following the business portion of the meeting, will discuss the results of NRC inspections following the issuance of the letter as well as the current NRC assessment of the performance. The letter, and a long series of inspections conducted over the last three years, stem from a red, or high safety significance finding, which was finalized in 2011. The improvements TVA agreed to institute include an improved safety culture as well as corrective action program, safety system reliability plans, work management processes and a procedure upgrade project. The letter also detailed a second group of longer-term actions focused on sustained performance and long-term success criteria, which are scheduled to be completed by Dec. 15, 2014, though some are scheduled for completion as early as May 2014. The red finding was issued due to the failure of a Unit 1 low-pressure coolant injection valve in the fall of 2010. That valve is part of a system relied upon for core cooling during certain accident scenarios. The valve was promptly repaired after its condition was discovered, but the NRC oversight process identified the issue as a red finding with high safety significance resulting in increased NRC inspection and oversight. Supplemental inspections began in 2011 following the red finding and a 23-person NRC team completed an intensive supplemental inspection at the plant last spring.