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A cooling tower at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant has been taken out of service after damage was discovered.
Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman Ray Golden said a security guard witnessed the damage to Tower 3 on Sunday, though the cause of the damage is not known. Taking the tower out of service has not impacted plant operations, he said, and all three reactors continue to operate at 100 percent power.
“The (U.S. Nuclear Regulator Commission’s) on-site resident inspectors were notified of the event,” said a statement from TVA. “ A root cause analysis is under way to determine why this happen and what repairs are necessary.”
Golden said it appears that wood supports of the tower have moved, causing damage to the exterior façade. He said there was movement of a pipe, which began to leak water, but the water contained no radioactive properties.
Cooling Tower 3 is one of seven cooling towers used at Browns Ferry, all of which are located about one-half mile from the plant and serve no safety function. Browns Ferry uses river water to condense steam after it is used to turn a turbine-generator to make electricity. The cooling towers are in the non-nuclear portion of the plant and help cool the water before it is released back to the river.
Tower 7, which was brought online earlier this year, was built at a cost of about $80 million.
Golden said the temperature of the river is beginning to increase, so Browns Ferry officials will monitor that closely. Last August, the plant reduced power by 50 percent for about a week because water temperatures were hovering to near 90 degrees.
Local News
July 30, 2012
Browns Ferry cooling tower offline after damage discovered
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