TVA Quarterly Board Meeting in Knoxville, Tn., Browns Ferry Extended Power Uprate Problems, A Compromise of Defense-in-Depth August 25, 2016

TVA President/CEO Bill Johnson provides the Presidents Report to Board Board Members and Ratepayers Thursday, August 25, 2016. TVA Board Member Lynn Evans is on Mr. Johnson's right.

Information on TVA Board Members and future board meeting dates and places may be found at https://www.tva.com/About-TVA/Our-Leadership/Board-of-Directors

Several Ratepayers and citizens expressed their concerns with the TVA Board. The Majority of the citizen input involved Floating Homes on TVA waters. Information on the TVA's Floating Homes Policy may be found at this link: https://tva.com/Environment/Shoreline-Construction/Floating-Houses

A historical listing of TVA's presentations and financial statements may be found at: http://www.snl.com/IRW/Presentations/4063363

Information on TVA's August 25th  2016 Board Meeting including the Agenda may be found at https://www.tva.com/About-TVA/Our-Leadership/Board-of-Directors/Meeting-Archive/TVA-Board-Meeting-August-25-2016

TVA on site videos of the meeting by BEST/MATRR Member Garry Morgan

President's Report

Chief Financial Officers Report



Selected Citizen Comments, Part 1
 
Selected Citizen Comments, Part 2 - People and Environmental Issues


Comments by Garry Morgan and Gretel Johnston Regarding the Extended Power Uprate at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Link to Report Discussed by Mark Leyse http://best-matrr.org/16-0803_Leyse's%20Browns%20Ferry%20Comments.pdf


Summary of the TVA Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Extended Power Uprate Problem compiled by Garry Morgan as presented to the TVA Board of Directors. 

Presented to you are comments of Mark Leyse, Nuclear Safety Advisor, for BEST/MATRR. The  information presented to you in the enclosed report to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board and the Chief Executive Officer, indicates there is an error in the computer safety model analysis of the Extended Power Uprate (EPU) for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN).

This error undermines the defense in depth safety requirements of the Browns Ferry Nuclear 

Facility. This same report has been presented as comments to the Nuclear Regulatory  Commission (NRC).

Non-conservative computer safety model analyses were performed in order to justify the  Extended Power Uprate (EPU) for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN).  As explained in the  comments presented, experimental data indicates that the EPU analyses under-predict the  rates of the chemical reaction between zirconium and steam that would occur in the event of a  loss-of-coolant accident (“LOCA”).  This means that the analyses under-predicts the rates in  which energy (heat) is released, hydrogen generated, and zirconium fuel-cladding oxidized by  the zirconium-steam reaction. The computer safety model is supposed to over-predict temperatures in order to ensure an adequate margin of safety.

By overlooking the deficiencies of the computer safety models, the TVA and the NRC have  undermined defense-in-depth safety principles, requiring the application of conservative  models in the computer safety model analysis. The health and safety of citizens living in the  area surrounding the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant should not be compromised by TVA using  these non-conservative safety models to help qualify for the proposed Extended Power Uprates  at the aging Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.