NRC TO DISCUSS BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT UNIT 1 RESTART
AND 2005 PERFORMANCE OF UNITS 2 AND 3
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is scheduled to meet with Tennessee Valley Authority officials in two separate meetings Tuesday, May 2, to discuss TVA’s Browns Ferry Unit 1 restart status and the agency’s assessment of safety performance last year at the plant’s other two units.

Both meetings will be held in the plant’s Training Center auditorium at the plant site near Athens, Ala. The NRC staff will meet with TVA and then be available to respond to questions or comments from the public before the close of each meeting.

The first meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) and will focus on the status of Unit 1 recovery efforts including completed work, schedules, challenges and NRC oversight and inspection. This meeting will be the sixth in a series of status meetings held either at the site, in the Atlanta regional office or at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md.

All three units of the Browns Ferry plant were shut down in 1985 but retained NRC operating licenses. Unit 2 was restarted in 1991 and Unit 3 was restarted in 1995. TVA has been doing extensive work on Unit 1 and says it expects to have that unit ready to begin operating again by 2007.

The second NRC meeting on May 2nd is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. (CDT) and is the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for Units 2 and 3.

"The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Browns Ferry plant and the nation’s other commercial nuclear power facilities," NRC Region II Administrator William Travers said. "This meeting is a chance for us to discuss that safety performance with the company, with local officials and with people living near the plant."

A letter sent from the NRC Region II Office to plant officials addresses the performance of Units 2 and 3 during the period and will serve as the basis for that meeting’s discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/bf_2005q4.pdf .

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with "green" and then increase to "white," "yellow" or "red," depending on the safety significance of the issues involved.

The NRC said the Browns Ferry plant operated safely during 2005 with all inspection findings being "green," or very low safety significance, and all performance indicators also indicating performance at levels requiring no additional NRC oversight.

As a result, the NRC plans to conduct only routine baseline inspections for Units 2 and 3 for the rest of 2006. The NRC staff will also conduct several other inspections, including the independent spent fuel storage installation and extended power uprate modifications.

Routine inspections are performed by NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by specialists from the Region II Office in Atlanta, and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md.

Current information for Browns Ferry Units 2 and 3 is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BF2/bf2_chart.html and www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/BF3/bf3_chart.html.

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Thursday, February 22, 2007