Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff members will be available to discuss the 2016 safety performance of the Sequoyah nuclear power plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, during an open house planned for Monday, April 10, in Soddy Daisy. The Sequoyah plant is near Soddy Daisy, 16 miles northeast of Chattanooga.
The open house will run from 6-7 p.m. at the Sequoyah Training Center, 2600 Igou Ferry Road in Soddy Daisy. Inspectors and managers responsible for NRC oversight of the plant, including the site-based resident inspectors, will be on hand to discuss the plant’s regulatory performance and NRC inspections.
Overall, the Sequoyah plant operated safely during 2016 and met NRC requirements. During much of 2016, Unit 1 received increased oversight due to a white performance indicator linked to the number of unplanned shutdowns. However, after an NRC inspection of corrective actions, the unit was returned to the NRC’s baseline level of oversight in October 2016. Baseline oversight entails thousands of hours of inspection each year.
“Our annual assessments of each plant provide a valuable, broad picture of plant safety performance and help us plan our future inspections,” NRC Region II Administrator Cathy Haney said. “Based on our assessments of Sequoyah throughout 2016, we will continue the normal level of oversight in 2017 unless there are events or performance issues that cause a change.”
Under the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, the agency assesses plant performance through the use of color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators, which are statistical measurements of plant performance that can trigger additional oversight if exceeded. Any inspection findings or performance indicators that are greater than green (very low safety significance) trigger increased NRC oversight.
Routine inspections are performed by resident inspectors assigned to the plant. Reviews are also carried out at the sites by specialist inspectors assigned to the agency’s Region II office in Atlanta.
The annual assessment letter for Sequoyah, as well as the notice for the meeting, are available on the NRC website, www.nrc.gov. Current performance information for Unit 1 and Unit 2 is also available.