Emergency crews participate today in Watts Bar emergency response test

Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant has become the first such plant in the U.S. to receive a license for power generation in 19 years.
Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant has become the first such plant in the U.S. to receive a license for power generation in 19 years.

Nearly 1,000 police, fire and other emergency and TVA workers will participate today in the annual emergency preparedness test at the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant near Spring City, Tenn.

The exercise will simulate a disaster at the nuclear plant and the response of local agencies will be graded by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as part of the regulators' oversight of the TVA plant and its emergency planning and evacuation procedures. Similar tests are conducted each year at TVA's other nuclear plants at Sequoyah near Soddy-Daisy and at Browns Ferry near Athens, Ala.

TVA officials said residents in the 10-mile radius of the Watts Bar plant may see increased vehicle traffic and may hear on-site and off-site sirens briefly activated.

A public meeting by the NRC and Department of Homeland Security representatives to discuss the response will be held at 11 a.m. EST on Friday at the Comfort Inn at 2811 Decatur Pike, Athens, Tenn.

Upcoming Events