No. II-10-023 April 12, 2010 

CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 977-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

 Joey Ledford (404) 977-4416 

 

 

NRC SCHEDULES OPEN HOUSE TO DISCUSS 

2009 PERFORMANCE OF SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have scheduled an open house on 

Thursday, April 22 to provide information on the agency’s annual assessment of safety 

performance for the Sequoyah nuclear power plant during 2009. 

The open house is scheduled to run from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Sequoyah plant training center 

at 2600 Igou Ferry Road in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., and will provide an opportunity for the public to 

learn about the plant’s performance last year as well as NRC oversight and inspection. 

The Sequoyah plant, which has two pressurized-water reactors, is located near SoddyDaisy, about 16 miles northeast of Chattanooga. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee 

Valley Authority. 

Overall, the NRC staff concluded that the Sequoyah plant operated safely in 2009, and 

there were no inspection findings or performance indicators that would cause the NRC to 

increase its level of oversight and inspection. Based on the plant’s performance, the NRC staff 

plans to continue the detailed routine or baseline inspections all nuclear power plants receive. 

“Every year, the NRC evaluates the safety performance of nuclear plants in a systematic 

and detailed way. These reviews allow us to respond to ongoing issues, if needed, and to plan our 

future inspections,” NRC Region II Administrator Luis Reyes said. “This open house gives local 

officials and citizens an opportunity to learn more about our oversight and is consistent with our 

commitment to openness and transparency.” 

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess plant 

performance. The colors start with “green,” which has very low safety significance, to “white,” 

“yellow” or “red,” based on the significance of the issues. Inspection findings and performance 

indicators are updated on the NRC’s web site (www.nrc.gov) each quarter. 

The annual assessment letter for the Sequoyah plant is available on the NRC web site at 

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/seq_2009q4.pdf. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region II 

Marquis One Tower 

245 Peachtree Center Ave., NE Suite 1200 

Atlanta, GA 30303-1257 

Web Site: www.nrc.gov 
Routine inspections are carried out by the NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant 

and by inspection specialists from the Region II office in Atlanta. Among the areas at the 

Sequoyah plant to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are preoperational testing of the 

site’s independent spent fuel storage facility, potential gas accumulation in the emergency core 

cooling system and operator licensing exams. 

Current performance information for Sequoyah Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site 

at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SEQ1/seq1_chart.html. Current performance 

information for Sequoyah Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at 

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SEQ2/seq2_chart.html. 

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