TVA Inspects Facilities After Earthquake As a Safety Precaution

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Aug 24, 2011, 08:12 ET

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Tennessee Valley Authority is inspecting 15 of its dams and ash impoundments and all of its nuclear plants after an earthquake hit near Richmond, Va., on Tuesday.

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"The seismograph at Tellico Dam was the only TVA site that recorded any shaking as a result of the earthquake," TVA Chief Operating Officer Bill McCollum said. "TVA is inspecting its nuclear plants and several dams and impoundments out of an abundance of caution to be sure the earthquake had no affect on these facilities."

TVA's dam safety criteria requires that inspections be performed at dams and impoundments following a recorded earthquake. TVA is in the process of performing visual walk downs and inspections at the following dams: Beaver Creek, Clear Creek, Boone, Cherokee, Doakes Creek (on Norris Reservoir), Douglas, Fontana, Fort Patrick Henry, Nolichucky, Norris, South Holston, Watauga and Wilbur. TVA completed its assessments at the ash impoundments at John Sevier, Bull Run and Kingston Fossil Plants and found no problems.

The monitoring equipment at TVA's three nuclear plants, Watts Bar and Sequoyah in Tennessee and Browns Ferry in Alabama, saw no changes due to the earthquake and personnel felt no ground movement.

All six TVA reactors are located in areas that are not prone to frequent or large earthquakes. The plants are designed, built and operated to withstand an earthquake of larger magnitude than any recorded in the southeastern U.S.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local governments with economic development.

SOURCE Tennessee Valley Authority