TVA's Browns Ferry Continues Leaking Radioactive Tritium - TVA OIG Report on Ground Water Protection

TVA image, Fair Use for Non-profit News Reporting

photo by G. Morgan

Full Report on Ground Water Protection and regulatory failures at Browns Ferry Alabama relating to radioactive substances leaks.

Tritium Leaks at Browns Ferry, January 15, 2015 Chattanooga Times Free Press article - http://www.timesfreepress.com/…/tvreports-tritium-l…/282080/

Recent Tritium Leak History
September 2013: http://legacy.decaturdaily.com/decaturd…/…/060903/leak.shtml
April 2010: http://www.timesfreepress.com/…/tva-reports-tritium-…/12541/
June 2010 Report, this report covers other radionuclide releases including tritium into the environment: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1100/ML110050287.pdf

TVA OIG, Office of the Inspector General, Report
September 2014 TVA-OIG Report 15056, TVA's Ground Water Protection Program:  https://oig.tva.gov/reports/PDF/14rpts/2014-15056.pdf
What the OIG found - 1) TVA does monitor groundwater and actions were taken to correct the leaks or spills; 2) the Office of the Inspector General could not verify that "Standard Programs and Processes were followed." 3) Weaknesses of the past 5 years were not corrected. 4) "...External assessments of the program were downgraded or excluded when the NPG, Nuclear Power Group, performed its' fleet assessments." 5) When external assessments were provided to the TVA (e.g. INPO, WANO, EPRI) it was discovered there is no process in place to implement recommendations and action items brought forth by the external consultants.

TVA Claims = False Statements - (current Times Free Press article) "But TVA officials said radiation occurs naturally in the environment and its own sampling has not shown levels above EPA standards." TVA's comment is contradicted by the NRC Event Report as indicated below.

NRC Event Report - The tritium leaked was in excess of 20,000 pCu/l. Quote from NRC Event report 50725 dated 01/08/2015 - http://www.nrc.gov/…/event-stat…/event/2015/20150109en.html… : "On January 7, 2015, at approximately 0700 CST, a leak to the environment was identified. Tritium was present at a concentration of 7.52E-3 uCi/mL, which is above the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standard of 20,000 picocuries per liter. No other radioactive isotopes were identified. The leak rate was estimated at approximately 0.5 gpm and determined to be from the condensate head tank. Water was accumulating on the concrete-lined reactor/refuel air zone air intake plenum with some accumulation of water on the ground in the area. The intake plenum contains three floor drains. Actions were immediately taken to terminate the leak once the flowpath was identified. The flowpath was terminated two hours and 45 minutes after identification. Based on system review and analysis, any tritiated water that would have made it to the floor drains would then be mixed with incoming raw water at two million gallons per minute. This mixed volume of water would then be circulated through the plant and discharged to the river with a resultant tritium concentration that is much less than detectable levels and well below US EPA drinking water standards. The station has established increased monitoring of groundwater at designated sample wells."

My Comments in Today's Times Free Press Article:
"But a representative of an anti-nuclear group said any radiation release is potentially dangerous.
Garry Morgan, a retired U.S. Army medical officer who has monitored radiation around Browns Ferry for Mothers Against Tennessee River Radiation, said the release was similar to one reported at Browns Ferry in April 2010. Other tritium leaks have occurred at the Sequoyah and Watts Bar plants in Tennessee."

"Any leak of a radionuclide contaminant into the environment indicates a failure of oversight and/or attention to detail, maybe both, on the part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Tennessee Valley Authority," Morgan said Saturday."

"He said health surveys by his group show that the increase in cancer mortality rates in the Tennessee River valley grew to 20 percent above the U.S. average since Browns Ferry began generating power in 1974. Morgan has sampled radiation levels around TVA nuclear plants for six years and claims the elevated cancer rate in the region "is attributable to chemical and radionuclide contamination." Again, the link: http://www.timesfreepress.com/…/tvreports-tritium-l…/282080/

SUMMARY
This is a continuation of an old story - TVA leadership failing to identify problems and following through with corrective actions. Unfortunately, the NRC is failing to protect the people by not requiring strict adherence to Nuclear Regulations regarding the operations of nuclear power facilities. Strict attention to detail, identification of all problems and the resolution of those problems must be accomplished to insure the safety of citizens surrounding nuclear power and nuclear fuel facilities.

GARRY MORGAN, U.S. Army Medical Department, Retired
BREDL/BEST/MATRR
http://www.matrr.org

TVA photo, Fair Use for Non-profit News Reporting

TVA Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant - The continuing Saga: When did the NRC and the TVA Know about the Defective Valves and Management Failures? Did the NRC Intentionally Deceive the Public

 

When and how long had the Tennessee Valley Authority's, TVA, Browns Ferry been experiencing degraded conditions as a result of failed valves? Was there an intentional cover-up by the TVA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC? Do nuclear Peer Review organizations such as WANO, World Association of Nuclear Operators, or INPO, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, have a moral, ethical and legal responsibility to disclose the existence of serious issues which may jeopardize public health and welfare of the public relating to nuclear power operations?

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) 

BRIEFING ON BROWNS FERRY UNIT 1

OCTOBER 18, 2011

9:O0 A.M.

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

Public Meeting

Link: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/commission/tr/2011/20111018.pdf

 

All the players were present, the NRC Commissioners and TVA Senior Executives. Quote from page 1 of the report -

"CHAIRMAN JACZKO: Good morning, everyone. The Commission meets today to discuss the safety challenges experienced by the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant and the steps being taken to strengthen safety at the plant.  In particular, in May 2004, Brown's Ferry Unit 1 was placed in Column IV of the  Reactor Oversight Process Action Matrix after it received a "Red" finding when a  reactor core cooling valve failed." Is that an error?

 

In the next paragraph Commissioner Jaczko goes on to say:

"This is not the only significant issue the Browns Ferry plant has experienced in recent years. In 2003, all units at Browns Ferry were placed in Column III after receiving a "Yellow" finding for fire protection issues. Given this recent history of issues, I'm sure that we can all agree that we want to see the plant perform more safely. To achieve that, there needs to be a strong commitment from the licensee’s entire organization, from its senior leadership to its frontline engineers to do what needs to be done for safety."

 

Had the plant actually received "Red finding" in 2004, or was this an error on the part of the NRC Chairman, Commissioner Jaczko? Attention to detail is important for the nuclear industry. The report continues; BILL BORCHARDT's comments on page 4 of the PDF linked: "...Browns Ferry Unit 1 entered Column IV of the Action Matrix in the fourth quarter of 2010." VICTOR MCCREE's comments on page 5: "...Unit 1 was assessed as being in the multiple repetitive degraded cornerstone, or Column IV, of the Reactor Oversight Process Action Matrix. Unit 1 was placed in this cornerstone column due to a "Red" finding in the mitigating systems cornerstone...On October 23rd, 2010, operators of Browns Ferry Unit 1 attempted to place Loop II of the residual heat removal low pressure coolant injection, or, RHR LPCI system in service to support refueling activities."

 

Maybe Commissioner Jaczko misspoke about the 2004 "Red Finding. Meanwhile, according to the NRC, the "Red Finding" is lifted and Browns Ferry Unit 1 is returned to the "Green" operating column stating, "The results of the inspection indicated that Browns Ferry was being operated safely." NUCPRO's listing of the Browns Ferry Assessment Letter: March 10, 2014 http://www.nucpros.com/content/browns-ferry-annual-assessment-letter

 

When did TVA and the NRC know there were valve problems at Browns Ferry?

Nuclear facilities have the privilege of receiving Peer Review Inspections by two separate groups of nuclear engineers. One of the groups is WANO, World Association of Nuclear Operators. Another group is INPO, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. Unfortunately for the public, when the INPO or WANO reports are issued  they have a statement that they are restricted from public view.  The TVA claims that the public is not entitled to see the reports nor entitled to a copy of the report for proprietary and financial reasons. TVA's position is highly suspect and reflective of TVA's attempt to continue with cover-ups and secrecy involving its nuclear program failures. However, the WANO and INPO groups themselves mark the reports as restricted.

 

The restrictive markings, when covering up serious safety issues which reflect negligent actions on the part of management of nuclear power plants, are effectively covering up issues which are of grave public concern. In the case of the Browns Ferry GE Mark 1 Nuclear plants the issues covered up, if not corrected, place the public at a higher risk of physical injury as a result of TVA negligence and a failure to correct the negligent actions by the regulator, the NRC.  

 

The WANO and INPO reports contain information that should be and must be made public. There is an ethical, moral and legal responsibility of the government agencies and the professional nuclear engineering organizations to make public those defective items identified which may in fact cause a catastrophic failure thus endangering the public. Such is the case of multiple defective valves which insure a nuclear reactor is cooled properly in the course of normal operations and emergency events.

 

The reports contain information regarding the safety of operating nuclear reactors. In the case of the Browns Ferry Nuclear Facility the INPO report dated July 2010 indicates the TVA, and presumably the NRC knew of the repetitive valve failures at all of the 3 Browns Ferry Units going back to 2006. On pages 30 and 31 (of 83pages) all 3 Browns Ferry Units experienced various valve failures.

The following photo of the pages are hereby listed as news, criticism and educational use, this posting is a not for profit listing under the Fair Use Rule of Section 107 of United States Law.

 

This listing also casts grave doubt on the inappropriate classification of such documents and the Federal Government's and the INPO/WANO institutions responsibilities to divulge such information to the public. The INPO report discloses long time safety failures at Browns Ferry and brings to light the regulators failure, NRC, as well as the TVA's failure as to safety culture and executive management. This failure extends to the NRC having access to such reports and keeping the reports restricted. The restriction of the reports are immoral, unethical, and possibly illegal, as they disclose serious public safety hazards regarding nuclear reactors at the TVA Browns Ferry nuclear facility. 

 

Nuclear Power Plant Safety and the protection of the publics health and welfare should be a TEAM PROCESS to protect the public. Not a process of cover-ups and secret documents to protect the nuclear power industry, executives, defective systems and incompetent managers. 

 

The INPO report began its description as Follows for the defective valves at Browns Ferry on page 28: "High and Low Pressure Injection systems have experienced repeat and age related failures." It goes on to describe management failures and "insufficient actions to prevent reoccurrence of equipment failures." The exact findings are hereby submitted as a "Fair Use Right" for the purpose of news reporting, education, criticism and the exposure of systemic negligence in a safety culture involving nuclear power use by the TVA.

 

Click on images for an expanded view.

 

 

Due to the seriousness of the issues involved and the appearance of a cover-up and or negligent activities on the part of the NRC and the TVA in this matter, the INPO report relating to valve failures at the TVA Browns Ferry GE Mark 1 Nuclear Facility is disclosed.

 

The July 2010 INPO report goes on to describe other equipment failures as a result of a failed safety culture and management neglect.

 

Nuclear Engineer Henry Jones discusses the existence of Peer Review Reports and their implications.

Whistle Blower Actions Correct TVA Flooding Issues at Watts Bar and Sequoyah - NRC Regulatory Performance Inspection Reports and Citizen Comments

 

How resilient are TVA nuclear plants? Are they susceptible to flooding which would cause a non-design basis disaster such as occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility in Japan?

This is what the recent inspections were about.  Flooding is an issue, according to the TVA and the NRC inspectors, deficiencies have been corrected.

During the Watts Bar meeting the NRC was asked about the reason we are having this issue about flooding. They were reminded that the reason the flooding issue is an issue is because an NRC whistleblower came forward. NRC Region 2 Officials deny that ever happened and stated it was their senior resident inspector at Watts Bar who brought the issue forward.

Union of Concerned Scientists on the NRC, Flooding Issue and Whistleblowers: "Dam failures are common..."  http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/nuclear_power/floods-from-dam-failure-10-19-12.pdf

 

VIDEO

                                            Dam Failure Incident Map

 

BACKGROUND ON THE ISSUE

October 2012 - "NRC Whistleblowers: Risk of Nuclear Melt-Down In U.S. Is Even HIGHER Than It Was at Fukushima...Massive Cover-Up of Risks from Flooding to Numerous U.S. Nuclear Facilities...Numerous American nuclear reactors are built within flood zones" http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/10/nrc-whistleblowers-higher-risk-of-nuclear-melt-down-in-u-s-than-fukushima.html

 

REACTOR MELTDOWN IS ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY

An engineer with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) … Richard Perkins, an NRC reliability and risk engineer, was the lead author on a July 2011 NRC report detailing flood preparedness. He said the NRC blocked information from the public regarding the potential for upstream dam failures to damage nuclear sites...Perkins, in a letter submitted Friday with the NRC Office of Inspector General, said that the NRC “intentionally mischaracterized relevant and noteworthy safety information as sensitive, security information in an effort to conceal the information from the public.” The Huffington Post first obtained the letter.

 

Huntsville Times, al.com - "A tornado or a ravaging flood could just as easily be like the tsunami that unleashed the final blow at Fukushima." http://blog.al.com/times-views/2011/03/editorial_mother_nature_not_ea.html

As a result of the NRC Engineer's disclosure improvements are made. What is wrong with a regulatory system where it takes brave individuals who must file complaints about their bosses supporting the nuclear industry instead of protecting the public's health and welfare?

ISSUES CORRECTED SAYS NRC -
"Regulators remove negative findings against TVA nuclear plants...TVA's nuclear power program, rated among the country's worst two years ago after regulators discovered safety problems at all three of the utility's plants, is on the mend.The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is lifting negative findings against each of TVA's operating nuclear plants this month after inspections late last year showed TVA has resolved questions over potential flood risks to the riverfront power plants."
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/feb/06/tva-nuclear-program-improvesregulators-remove/

SEQUOYAH


NRC Inspection Report - Public Session


Sequoyah Public Comments Make Radiation Visible


WATTS BAR
NRC Inspection Report - Public Session



Watts Bar Public Comments
 

NRC Regulatory Performance Report on the 3 TVA GE Mark 1 Nuclear Reactors at Browns Ferry Alabama, Video Report in 4 Parts, January 30, 2014

World Association of Nuclear Operators, WANO Browns Ferry Risk Assessment Report, Jan. 29, 2013 quote from Mr. Jones: "...Warned, a combination of human performance and safety systems weaknesses results in a high potential for a significant plant event."

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant 'red finding' removed, but plant still under intensive inspection status. http://blog.al.com/breaking/2014/01/tva.html  "Federal regulators have removed a critical "red" finding from TVA's Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, but the plant remains in a state of heightened inspections due to other problems...The announcement that Browns Ferry had completed work related to the 2011 red finding that identified a significant safety problem, was made during a public meeting hosted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Athens,[ Al.]" on January 30, 2014.

NRC Regulatory Performance Meeting regarding the 3 TVA Browns Ferry GE Mark 1 nuclear reactors. This is Part 1, NRC and TVA input.

Part 2, Citizen Comments


Part 3, Citizen Comments

CONTAMINATION, FIRES, FAILED SAFETY SYSTEMS PLAGUE U.S. NUCLEAR PLANTS. Nuclear Safety Event Reports for Nuclear Reactors and Fuels Facilities

Nuclear Zombie'shttp://www.thenation.com/article/zombie-nuke-plants by Christian Parenti, art work by Edwin Vazquez

************************* Stop Bellefonte *************************

This is the second report I have compiled of this nature. The first: http://arklite.blogspot.com/2009/08/nuclear-power-is-not-safe-nor-clean.html There is a national concern that the formal press and media outlets do not report the frequency of Nuclear Facility Accidents and serious events within the United States. It has previously been found that aging nuclear power facilities have systems failures, redundant safety systems do fail. These reports indicate a serious problem with nuclear fuels fabrication facilities.

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There are incidents which have resulted in Radioactive Materials being released into the local environment. In many cases these releases are not reported.

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It has been recently reported that the nuclear manufactoring industry has poured over $620 million dollars into propaganda programs and politicians campaign funds in the last 10 years. A culture of deceit and propaganda in regards to nuclear safety is increasingly more and more alarming.

> The following information is compiled from the Event Reports of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC. NRC link for more detailed event reports: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2009/index.html

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NRC Emergency and Serious Event Reports for 1st Quarter FY 2010, October-December 2009. Serious contamination events, fires, security breeches and failed safety systems reflect serious problems for U.S. nuclear reactors and nuclear fuels manufactoring facilities. (40 events)

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24 Reactor Scrams, in all cases the reactor's control rods inserted properly and the reactors were reported as stable. Events #:45391, 45394, 45404, 45409, 45412, 45421, 45433, 45440, 45445, 45474, 45482, 45483, 45484, 45499, 45520, 45537, 45547, 45549, 45556, 45557, 45577, 45583, 45588, 45597. Pump failures, electrical systems failures, high pressure fluid leaks, reactor core coolant level drops and valve failures were the primary cause of the reactor scrams.

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4 Fire Events #: 45407-Areva fuels plant, radioactive materials released, fire, failure to declare emergency. 45497-Nuclear Fuels Svc. Erwin, Tn., fire and explosion, contamination to employees possible but not reported. 45515-Summer, Sc., unit 1, fire in protected area more than 15 minutes, switch gear room, emergency declared. 45565- Farley, Al. unit 1, fire in CCW heat exchanger room more than 15 minutes.

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9 Contamination Events #: 45413-Paducah, Ky. fuels plant. 45492-Paducah Ky. fuels plant. 45510-Ginna, Ny. unit 1, Cesium 137 spill during pipe replacement. 45514- Three Mile Island, Pa. unit 1, radiation release, 150 workers contaminated, unlisted degree of contamination. 45517-Beaver Valley, Pa unit 1, EMERGENCY declared, reactor cooling system leak greater than 25 gallons per minute. Total quantity of coolant in spill not disclosed, contamination limited to containment building. 45527-nuclear fuels facility; 45533-SEE BELOW. 45593-Fitzpatrick, NY reactor unit 1, Tritium leak into storm drain, amount not disclosed. 45601-Erwin, Tn. fuel fabrications facility, suspension of processes due to repetitive safety failures.

45533, this event occurred while employee was working on the reactor coolant pump at the Ft. Calhoun, Ne. nuclear plant, this was a serious personal contamination event.

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2 Safety related Events #: 45522-Turkey Point, Fl. dropped fuel rods; 45527-Paducah Fuel Plant, failed safety equipment and continuous safety systems failure.

> 1 Security Event #: 45521-Turkey Point, Fl., 33 Cuban Nationals entered the facilities security area. One of the illegals contacted the Control Room via a cell phone to inform them that they were on the facility and had arrived via a boat.

>>

Related media stories: http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/01/15/rash-of-pipe-failures-at-nuclear-plants-threatens-safety-lawmakers-say-2/49465/

Nuclear Power Is Not Safe nor Clean, 45 Day Nuclear Accident/Event Reports

Political leadership in Scottsboro and Jackson County are not concerned with citizen safety. They have blindly supported a nuclear Bellefonte so they may reap the rewards of increased TVA in lieu of taxes.
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reports in the last 45 days the following Serious Incidents or as some say "Nuclear Accidents." Event notification reports may be read at this NRC address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2009/index.html
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The NRC reports indicate 14 accidents/events within the past 45 days which in some cases resulted in radioactive contamination requiring the donning of protective equipment, extinguishing of fires in critical areas or reactor scrams. The 2 most serious being a fire and release of toxic gas at the Columbia, Wa. Nuclear Reactor (event #45245) and a release of toxic-radioactive uranium dust into a building where nuclear fuel was being manufactured at Metropolis, Il. (event #45195).
>

The reports indicate several fires, drunk on duty, pressure leakages, failing equipment, failed communications, tritium leakage, failed cooling pumps and loss of critical safety controls. Event #'s 45245, 45255, 45183, 45013, 45193, 45195, 45196, 45200, 45203, 45207, 45208, 45210, 45228, 45328. There are several other events listed including those involving TVA personnel drunk on duty and less significant events not listed which reflect equipment failures. Less serious events did not require protective measures or reactor scrams. Redundant safety systems did appear to be in working order. However, in some cases it was reported backup safety systems and communications equipment had failed. In all cases of emergency conditions or the report of a critical event the reactors which were at 100% power did successfully trip to a 0% power state.
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Nuclear Power is not safe, it is not clean and it is very expensive. It is time the politicians and the nuclear industry stop lying to the public about the safety and cleanliness of nuclear power. Nuclear power is inherently dangerous, this is the reason for the many controls and redundant safety systems. Unfortunately the nuclear industries propaganda machine has consistently attempted to deceive the public concerning nuclear accidents and serious events.