Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant near Athens, Ala., is seen from above.One lesson learned from the region’s tornadoes over the past year is resulting in a sirens upgrade for all three TVA nuclear plants, beginning with Browns Ferry near Athens, Ala.
“The severe weather in this area over the last year is a reminder of the importance of the sirens to the safety of the community,” said Browns Ferry site Vice President Keith Polson in a prepared statement.
The new sirens run on conventional electrical service, but feature a battery backup designed to keep them operating for up to seven days if power is interrupted, as it was for several days after last April’s tornadoes.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is replacing all 100 emergency sirens with units equipped with battery backups in a 10-mile radius of Browns Ferry.
When the Browns Ferry project is finished in late spring, TVA will replace the sirens around Sequoyah in Soddy-Daisy and around Watts Bar near Spring City, Tenn.