Smoke at TVA's Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant this morning activated TVA fire crews and the Dallas Bay Volunteer Fire Department and required the utility to notify regulators at 8:16 a.m. today of "unusual event" - the lowest emergency classification at the Unit 2 reactor at Sequoyah.
The emergency designation was lifted by 10:36 a.m. and fire crews stood down after a couple of hours when no fire or flames were reported and the smoke problem was resolved. TVA spokeswoman Malinda Hunter said "plant personnel are safe" and there was no equipment damage, but TVA and Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff are still investigating the incident.
The Unit 2 reactor where the smoke was detected was already shut down due to a scheduled maintenance and refueling outage.
"At no time was there any risk to the public, site personnel or the plant's ability to provide continued generation to the Valley, " Hunter said in a statement today.
Unit 1 remains operating at full power, according to TVA.
The smokes was detected in the Unit 2 containment area at the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant near Soddy-Daisy, which is one of three nuclear power plants operated by TVA.