NRC SCHEDULES MEETING IN ATLANTA TO DISCUSS UPCOMING INSPECT

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NRC SCHEDULES MEETING IN ATLANTA TO DISCUSS UPCOMING INSPECTIONS AT BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANTThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 30 with the Tennessee Valley Authority to discuss the NRC’s plans for supplemental inspections at theBrowns Ferry nuclear power plant related to a “red” inspection finding issued in May and recentlyconfirmed after an additional review.The meeting is scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. EDT in the NRC’s Region II office, 245 Peachtree Center Avenue NE in Atlanta. The meeting is open to the public and people attending the meeting will have an opportunity to communicate with NRC staff members after the business portion of the meeting is completed.The “red” finding was issued for the failure of a low pressure coolant injection valve last fallat the plant. That valve is part of a system that would be used for core cooling during certain accident scenarios and its inoperable state could have led to core damage had a series of unlikelyevents occurred. Under the NRC’s oversight process, a “red” finding has “high safety significance”and results in increased NRC inspection and oversight of the facility.The increased NRC oversight at Browns Ferry includes a broad set of supplemental inspections to evaluate safety, organizational and programmatic issues at the plant. The schedule forthose inspection efforts has not yet been set but it will include a more extensive review of programs and processes than those conducted as part of the NRC’s baseline inspection program. The facility’ssafety culture will also be assessed.The three-unit Browns Ferry plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, is located near Athens, Ala., about 32 miles west of Huntsville.The letter discussing the “red” finding for the valve issue can be found in the AgencywideDocuments Access and Management System (ADAMS) at by using the document numberML111290482 and the letter confirming the finding after the additional review is ML112280215.###