International nuclear agency reviews Sequoyah plant

For the first time in its 35-year history, the International Atomic Energy Agency has sent a team of its top experts to review a Tennessee nuclear power plant.

A 16-member international safety review team is visiting the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant near Soddy-Daisy this week and next to review operational safety practices at the facility to both learn lessons form TVA and make recommendations on how the plant might operate better. Following their review of Sequoyah on Aug. 31, the delegates from Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, South Korea, France, Romania, Germany, and China will issue a report about their findings.

"We have had these kinds of assessments of our plants from a variety of groups, such as INPO (the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations) and WANO (the World Association of Nuclear Operators) and we greatly value the perceptions from a fresh set of eyes on the challenges we are facing," TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said Monday. "This gives us a chance to learn more about what others are thinking and doing in our industry."

The voluntary peer review is coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, a Vienna, Austria-based arm of the United Nations widely known as the world's "Atoms for Peace" organization.

photo A view inside of the protected area of TVA's Sequoyah Nuclear Plant is shown.

Established n 1982, the the international atomic review group has assessed eight other nuclear plants since the program began in the areas of operational experience, training and qualifications, radiation protection, chemistry, emergency planning and preparedness and plant maintenance.

Despite a slowdown in nuclear power generation in North America, a new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency projects nuclear power generation around the globe will grow by as much as 42 percent by 2030 and could more than double by 2050 from present levels.

"In some countries, concerns about climate change provide an incentive to support continued operation of nuclear power plants, or are part of the argument for a new build program," said Mikhail Chudakov, deputy director general and head of the Department of Nuclear Energy for the IAEA.

The report notes that more than 30 advanced water cooled reactors are already under construction worldwide, including two reators at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Ga.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.

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