Hydrogen Leak Shuts Down Unit at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) was forced to bring the 1,118-megawatt Unit 2 offline on September 17 at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Station in Decatur, Alabama, after engineers discovered a hydrogen leak in the main generator. Plant officials said the leak was found at the bottom of the generator which houses main components of the cooling system. Engineers are still performing repairs, and plant officials hope to have the unit repaired by this week.

The plant is located on the Tennessee River. It consists of three nuclear units capable of generating approximately 3,400 MW. All units were built by General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) and are licensed to operate for another 28 to 30 years.

On March 22, 1975, a worker used a candle to search for air leaks, setting a temporary cable seal on fire. This caused significant damage to the reactor control cabling for the entire station. Since then, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission added significant changes to the standards for fire protection.

TVA is the nation's largest public power company with the capacity of generating 33,000 MW. TVA provides power to about 8.7 million residents of the Tennessee Valley.

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