Sequoyah Nuclear Generating Station

NRC
Region Two
(South) Alabama Bellefonte*
Browns Ferry
Farley Florida Crystal River 3
St. Lucie
Turkey Point Georgia Hatch
Vogtle North Carolina Brunswick
McGuire
Shearon Harris South Carolina Catawba
Oconee
H.B. Robinson
Summer TennesseeSequoyah
Watts Bar Virginia North Anna
Surry* unfinished This box: view • talk • edit

The Sequoyah nuclear power plant is located on 525 acres (2.1 km²)located 7 miles east of Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, and 20 miles north of Chattanooga, abutting Chickamauga Lake, on the Tennessee River. The facility is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The plant has two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors. Sequoyah units 1 & 2, as well as their sister plant at Watts Bar, both have ice condensed containment systems. In case of a large loss of coolant accident, steam generated by the leak is dirrected toward borated ice which helps condense the steam creating a lower pressure, allowing for a smaller containment building.

The first reactor began operation in September 1980, followed by the second a year later. Within months of starting operations, some 420,000 liters of radioactive coolant leaked due to operator error and several workers were exposed to radiation, but the spill was kept inside the containment building[citation needed].

Sequoyah's two units have a winter net dependable capacity of 2,333 megawatts[1], making Sequoyah the most productive of TVA's 4 nuclear plants. Sequoyah is the second-most powerful electric plant in the entire TVA system, second only to the Cumberland coal-fired plant northwest of Nashville.[citation needed]

The operating license of Sequoyah's Unit 1 expires in 2020. Unit 2's operating license expires in 2021.[1]

TVA constructed dry cask storage facilities at Sequoyah and purchased special storage containers for the purpose of storing spent nuclear fuel. The storage facilities have been approved by the NRC.[1]

TVA's Sequoyah operating license was modified in Sept. 2002 to allow TVA to irradiate tritium-producing burnable absorber rods at Sequoyah for the U.S. Department of Energy. The process of irradiating tritium-producing rods produces tritium, which is used in nuclear weapons. TVA began irradiating tritium-producing rods at its Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station in 2003. As of February 2007, TVA had no plans to produce tritium at Sequoyah.[1]

Notes

^ a b c d Securities & Exchange Commission filing. Available at http://www.sec.gov/

v • d • e NRC-licensed nuclear power plantsin the United States Region I
(Northeast)

Beaver Valley · Calvert Cliffs · Fitzpatrick · Ginna · Hope Creek · Indian Point · Limerick · Millstone · Nine Mile Point · Oyster Creek · Peach Bottom · Pilgrim · Salem · Seabrook · Susquehanna · Three Mile Island · Vermont Yankee

Region II
(South)

Browns Ferry · Brunswick · Catawba · Farley · Crystal River · Harris · Hatch · McGuire · North Anna · Oconee · Robinson · St. Lucie · Sequoyah · Summer · Surry · Turkey Point · Vogtle · Watts Bar ·

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Future

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v • d • e FacilitiesOperated by the Tennessee Valley Authority Hydroelectric
Generating Stations Apalachia• Bear Creek • Beaver Creek • Beech • Blue Ridge • Boone • Cedar • Cedar Creek • Chatuge • Cherokee • Chickamauga• Clear Creek • Doakes Creek • Dogwood • Douglas• Fontana• Fort Loudon• Fort Patrick Henry • Great Falls• Guntersville• Hiwassee • John Sevier • Kentucky• Little Bear Creek • Lost Creek • Melton Hill• Nickajack• Nolichucky • Normandy • Norris• Nottley • Ocoee 1 • Ocoee 2 • Ocoee 3 • Pickwick Landing• Pin Oak • Pine • Raccoon Mountain• Redbud • South Holston • Sycamore • Tellico• Tims Ford • Upper Bear Creek • Watauga • Watts Bar• Wheeler• Wilbur • Wilson Fossil-fueled Power PlantsAllen • Bull Run• Colbert • Cumberland • Gallatin • John Sevier • Johnsonville • Kingston• Paradise • Shawnee • Widows Creek Combustion Turbine PlantsCaledonia • Gleason • Kemper • Lagoon Creek • Marshall Nuclear Power Plants Bellefonte• Browns Ferry• Sequoyah • Watts Bar