TVA faces $70,000 fine for Watts Bar equipment violations

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Arkansas-St. John's Live Blog

Federal regulators said today they plan to slap TVA with a $70,000 fine for not adequately verifying the quality of safety equipment installed at the Unit 2 reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed the civil penalty against the Tennessee Valley Authority for violations related to the commercial grade dedication program during the construction of the Watts Bar unit near Spring City. Tenn.

NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said the NRC requires certain components in a nuclear plant to meet strict nuclear quality assurance standards, but NRC inspections in late 2012 and early 2013 identified at least three instance in which TVA didn't meet the equipment verification rules.

"While TVA has aggressively addressed these issues, the violations and proposed civil penalty emphasize the importance of an effective quality assurance program during construction as well as prompt identification and reporting of any related breakdowns," NRC Region II Deputy Administrator for Construction Fred Brown said in a statement today.