Previous NRC “red” findingsJuly 1, 2001 – At Indian Point Nuclear Plant in Buchanan, N.Y., workers and officials did not identify and correct stress corrosion cracking in the steam generator tubes of its Unit 2 reactor.Feb. 28, 2002 – Point Beach Nuclear Plant on Lake Michigan north of Two Rivers, Wis., identified a potential failure of the auxiliary cooling feedwater pumps due to operator actions specified in plant procedures.Aug. 9, 2002 – Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant near Toledo, Ohio, failed to properly implement a boric acid control which allowed reactor coolant system pressure leakage to go undetected for a prolonged period of time. Davis-Besse was shut down for two years for repairs and upgrades.March 24, 2003 – Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Wisconsin for Unit 2 for inadequacies in the plant owner’s design process and the implementation of that process, including design requirements and safety evaluations.Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
TVA may have to spend more than $10 million for an intensive set of nuclear regulatory inspections at the utility’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.
The inspections come on the heels of its recent “red” inspection rating, the worst level given by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before a plant is shut down entirely.
Ray Golden, spokesman for TVA’s nuclear operations, said the utility is still working on a budget to cover the preparatory and support work for the stepped-up NRC inspections planned at the plant beginning in September. TVA also must pay for the NRC inspectors’ time, which could add up to more than $800,000, NRC officials said.
“I’m going to guess it’s going to be more than $10 million,” Golden said Tuesday after attending a meeting between TVA and NRC in Atlanta.