Most employee complaints
The U.S. nuclear power plants where employees made the most allegations about safety problems from 2012 through 2015 were: 1. Millstone units 2 & 3, 55 complaints 2. Watts Bar Unit 1, 54 complaints 3. Browns Ferry units 1,2 and 3, 52 complaints 4. Susquehanna units 1 and 2, 50 5. Indian Point 2 & 3, 43 complaints Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Employees at TVA’s Watts Bar nuclear plant near Spring City, Tenn., have made more allegations about safety problems to federal regulators this year than any other nuclear plant in the country, according to a new report from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The NRC has received six safety concerns from employees at Watts Bar already this year, bringing to 54 the number of such complaints made to regulators in the past three years. Only the Millstone Nuclear Power Station, the biggest power plant in Connecticut, has had more such complaints from its employees since 2012.
More allegations have been substantiated by the NRC in 2016 for Watts Bar than for any other plant. In fact, the only allegation substantiated by the NRC in 2016 for the entire fleet of operating nuclear plants was at Watts Bar.
NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said Wednesday that regulators take each of the employee safety allegations seriously, especially since utilities have their own internal employee concerns program to try to deal with problems before they reach a regulatory level.