A Continuing Trend of Safety and Management Failures, Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, Tanner Alabama

Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant

Schematic of the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, 3 GE Mark 1 style defective nuclear reactors.

Tanner, Alabama is a small rural farming community in North Alabama. Tanner is 8 air miles to the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant. Within the 8 miles is the Tanner High School. https://www.tannerhigh.org/  Browns Ferry is 9.5 air miles from Athens, Alabama, the closest city. There are several schools in Athens, Alabama. Research has demonstrated there are no plans involving children in the evacuation and emergency planning process.

 The evacuation plan for Browns Ferry is woefully inadequate and may be found at this link: Browns Ferry  (March 5, 2018 -In checking this links operability a 404 error is displayed) Emergency Preparidness link may be found here - https://www.tva.gov/Energy/Our-Power-System/Nuclear/Emergency-Preparedness/Browns-Ferry-Emergency-Preparedness TVA's information page link about Browns Ferry: https://www.tva.gov/power/nuclear/brownsferry.htm

TVA has failed to incorporate 12 mile and 25 mile evacuation zones into their emergency planning process surrounding Browns Ferry. This demonstrates TVA and local officials are not coordinating planning actions nor taking into consideration the lessons of Fukushima, Japan into their Emergency Planning operations.

Current TVA evacuation map displaying a 10 mile radius (pictured above). The Huntsville International Airport is 24 air miles from Browns Ferry; downtown Huntsville, Alabama is 30 air miles from Browns Ferry. Over 900,000 people reside within 50 miles of the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant.

Browns Ferry 25 mile map with simulated (wind direction reflected as NW to SE and SE to NW) radiation plume dispersion overlay.

GE Mark 1 Reactors in the U.S.

Reactor            Location            Size (MW)     Year

Browns Ferry 1     Decatur, AL           1065        1974
Browns Ferry 2     Decatur, AL           1104        1975
Browns Ferry 3     Decatur, AL           1105        1977
Brunswick 1        Southport, NC          938        1976
Brunswick 2        Southport, NC          920        1975
Cooper             Nebraska City, NE      770        1974
Dresden 2          Morris, IL             867        1970
Dresden 3          Morris, IL             867        1971
Duane Arnold       Cedar Rapids, IA       580        1975
Hatch 1            Baxley, GA             876        1975
Hatch 2            Baxley, GA             883        1979
Fermi 2            Monroe, MI            1122        1988
Hope Creek         Hancock's Brdg, NJ    1161        1986
Fitzpatrick        Oswego, NY             854        1976
Monticello         Monticello, MN         572        1971
Nine Mile Point 1  Oswego, NY             621        1969
Oyster Creek       Toms River, NJ         615        1969
Peach Bottom 2     Lancaster, PA         1112        1974
Peach Bottom 3     Lancaster, PA         1112        1974
Pilgrim            Plymouth, MA           685        1972
Quad Cities 1      Moline, IL             867        1972

Quad Cities 2      Moline, IL             867        1972

Vermont Yankee     Vernon, VT             620        1972

Reuters "Fact Box" http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/japan-quake-nuclear-ge-idUSN1227232120110312

The Browns Ferry nuclear plant represents a continuing trend of management and safety culture failures documented by the press.

1) Failed valves, poor safety culture and a "Red Finding:" http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/news/story/2011/sep/28/regulators-to-discuss-browns-ferry-findings/60121/
2) Safety Culture failures and inadequate work planning: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jan/27/inspectors-cite-inadequate-work-planning-browns-fe/ 
3) In earlier article, TVA attempts to make excuses for failures and distractions as a result of the Tornado disaster in April 2011 https://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jul/14/tva-defends-browns-ferry-after-reports-equipment-o/
4) More excuses, this time from the NRC, ""TVA recognizes their performance has not been as good as it could be. ... It takes time." How much time does it take? For Fire Safety it is taking 37 years and the problems are still not corrected. https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/16/browns-ferry-isnt-ready-to-inspect/ 
5) NRC extends fire safety deadline. A culture of excuses and support of the nuclear industry instead of the NRC supporting citizen safety and health. https://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/23/nuclear-nrc-extends-browns-ferrys-fire-fix/ 
6) Discrimination and intimidation at Browns Ferry and the TVA, hangmans noose x 5=disturbing trends. https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/may/22/noose-found-hanging-browns-ferry-nuclear-plant/
 7) Another malfunctioning valve  https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jun/16/browns-ferry-has-valve-malfunction-tva-nuclear/
8) "Browns Ferry Not Ready for Inspection." Worse the NRC has failed to enforce rules on Fire Safety and diminishes public confidence. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jun/22/tva-browns-ferry-not-ready-for-inspection/ 
9) Fire Safety problems-
--(a) Browns Ferry Control Room Fire, "Browns Ferry nuclear plant had a control room fire in January, regulators took months to notify public:"  https://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/07/browns_ferry_nuclear_plant_had.html  Op Ed article on Browns Ferry Fire Safety: http://blog.al.com/times-views/2012/07/editorial_lessons_at_browns_fe.html
--(b) Fire Response failure: https://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/11/tvas_browns_ferry_nuclear_plan.html
--(c) NRC cites fire  hazards: http://blog.al.com/live/2010/01/nrc_cites_fire_hazards_at_alab.html
--(d) How long does it take to correct the problem? "Regulators fault fire protection approach at Browns Ferry nuclear plant:" https://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/04/regulators_fault_fire_protecti.html  Meanwhile back at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Ranch of mass failures.
10) Violations violation, violations. FIRE- ""We are not here to contest the violation," Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Vice President Keith Polson told the NRC about Browns Ferry operators and trainers failing a simulation exercise on safe shutdown in the event of a fire." New finding for safety related deficiencies, frustrations expressed by citizen watchdogs:" http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/news/story/2012/jul/26/browns-ferry-raises-concerns-frustrations-tva/83418/

PLUTONIUM MOX FUEL INSANITY PLANNED FOR BROWNS FERRY

If listing the 10 articles above to demonstrate various levels of management, safety and regulatory failures are not enough to demonstrate a failed safety culture and management failures at TVA's Browns Ferry - now comes the incompetent TVA leadership wanting to place dangerous Plutonium Oxide fuel, MOX, into a defective, aging nuclear reactor where there is a continuing trend of systemic failures. It is insanity to utilize MOX-Plutonium fuel at Browns Ferry.  http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2012/jul/25/chattanoog-tva-considers-use-of-controversial-fuel/83263/

"TVA wants to make guinea pigs of us all, using weapons-derived plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel in its Sequoyah and Browns Ferry nuclear reactors. This fuel, made from old nuclear warheads, has never been used to power a reactor. Duke Energy tested it, found that it caused expansion of fuel rods, and backed out. Likewise, Energy Northwest, a public utility in Washington state, has pulled out of plutonium fuel use. That means it’s likely down to TVA’s Browns Ferry boiling water reactors of the GE Mark 1 design, same design as the Fukushima exploding reactor...When TVA and the NRC tell us that MOX fuel has been used for years in Europe and Japan, they fail to tell us that fuel is derived from nuclear reactors, not from weapons-grade plutonium, and that it too is more dangerous than uranium-based fuel." Dr. Kathy Ferris letter to the editor: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/D4/20120729/OPINION03/307290037/LETTER-TVA-s-nuclear-plan-could-bring-fallout-here?odyssey=mod_sectionstories  (This link is a 404 error)

Union of Concerned Scientists report on MOX Plutonium fuel: "...the use of MOX fuel can lead to increased safety problems when it is a larger fraction of the fuel (e.g. 30 percent or more, as is done in France). In such a case the MOX fuel can increase both the likelihood that certain types of accidents will occur and the public health consequences should one occur." https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/nuclear-terrorism/what-is-mox-fuel.html#.Wp495GrwbIU

Dangerous and defective Plutonium MOX fuel- "The abnormal fuel assembly growth (The fuel pellets grew-expanded in the Duke Power test reactor.) which terminated the MOX experiment has broader safety implications. The NRC has allowed dozens of AREVA uranium fuel assemblies with the same flaw to remain in other U.S. reactors, including Three Mile Island-1 in Pennsylvania, Davis-Besse in Ohio, Oconee in South Carolina, and Crystal River in Florida. AREVA told the NRC in April that it has not as yet determined the cause of the problem, although it may be related to an experimental alloy known as "M5" AREVA uses in the "guide tubes" where the control rods that shut down the reactor are inserted. Whatever the cause, the problem indicates that the NRC's licensing process for new fuels is inadequate..." http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/nuclear-fuel-test-failure-0140.html {404 error-try this link} https://foe.org/news/2008-11-nuclear-fuel-test-failure-raises-concerns/
MOX Plutonium Fuel represent problems and safety concerns: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mox-fuel-nuclear/

Utilizing MOX Plutonium fuel in aging, problematic nuclear reactors demonstrates questionable judgement and calls into question the NRC's motives. Every citizen should be asking the NRC this question: Which do you place first, the health and welfare of citizens or profits for the multinational nuclear power industry?

More information on Browns Ferry and other nuclear reactors in the Tennessee River Valley at "Our Nuclear Valley." https://nuclearvalley.blogspot.com/