LIMESTONE COUNTY, AL (WAFF) -
The Tennessee Valley Authority invited media members on a tour of its Browns Ferry nuclear plant Friday. Management is working to fix safety issues as regulators monitor the progress.
"We've made a number of improvements, and we wanted to begin to show people some of the work that we've done," said TVA spokesperson Ray Golden.
A Nuclear Regulatory Commission red finding has only happened at a few plants in the country. One of those is at Browns Ferry. Plant officials said they're addressing the issues the NRC discovered, including better fire protection.
"Inside the plant we're doing things like separating the cable. Making sure if there was a large fire the fire wouldn't take out all of the different safety systems; putting in new equipment. New detection type fire equipment," Golden said.
Another problem at Browns Ferry is what the NRC labels a "broke-fix" mentality. Plant officials said they are enhancing their corrective action program, working to better diagnose potential equipment problems early.
"We don't want to be just fixing things. We want to be putting them in pristine condition so hopefully they don't break or they break less frequently," Golden said.
NRC inspectors have completed the second of a three-part inspection of Browns Ferry. The third phase will be the most intensive with up to thirty inspectors scouring the plant for nearly a month.
"It'll be a top to bottom inspection. And at the end of it, we hope to demonstrate that we've made the necessary changes, show them that we're really safety conscience, and that this plant is back to top performing standards," Golden said.
That inspection is expected to happen sometime in October or November.
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Management is working to fix safety issues as regulators monitor the progress at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.
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