PUBLIC MEETING HELD RE SAFETY CONCERNS AT WATTS BAR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

On October 18, 2018, NRC held a public meeting with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) officials to be briefed on the current status and progress of actions to improve the safety conscious work environment at the Watts Bar nuclear plant.

The meeting was held in Athens, Tennessee.  The plant is located near Spring City, approximately 60 miles southwest of Knoxville.  

Background

On March 23, 2016, the NRC staff issued a letter to TVA expressing concern that some operations employees may not have felt comfortable raising safety concerns at the plant.  After a mediation session in June 2017, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Order to TVA, which agreed to an extensive list of corrective actions to address the safety conscious work environment issues.  Although the issues were identified at the Watts Bar plant, TVA also agreed to implement actions at its Browns Ferry and Sequoyah nuclear plants, as well as at its corporate offices.  

Overview

During the meeting, TVA provided an update on those corrective actions and NRC officials asked questions and discussed the agency’s continuing oversight regarding the issue.  NRC staff was also available after the business portion of the meeting to answer questions from members of the public and the media.

For additional information, please contact Roger Hannah at (404) 997-4417 or Joey Ledford at (404) 997-4416.