U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

TVA Nuclear’s Handling of Potentially Contaminated Liquids

Report Information

Date Issued
Report Number
2021-15780
Report Type
Inspection / Evaluation
Description
Due to concerns identified during Evaluation 2020-15743, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Radiation Protection’s Organizational Effectiveness (report issued December 10, 2020), we performed an evaluation of TVA Nuclear’s handling of potentially contaminated liquids at its nuclear sites. The scope of our evaluation was limited to TVA Nuclear’s process for releasing liquids from Radiologically Controlled Areas (RCA) for unrestricted use. We determined potentially contaminated liquids were released from RCAs at each nuclear site. This occurred because all applicable analyses were not performed on some liquids prior to release. In addition, we identified opportunities for improvement related to (1) TVA Nuclear’s processes for tritium analysis prior to the release of liquids for unrestricted use and (2) documentation issues at each nuclear site, including the incomplete submittal of records, incomplete maintenance processes, and inaccurate logs.
Joint Report
Yes
Participating OIG
Tennessee Valley Authority OIG
Agency Wide
Yes (agency-wide)
Questioned Costs
$0
Funds for Better Use
$0
View report on Oversight.gov

Recommendations

We recommend the Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer, TVA Nuclear, establish criteria and guidance regarding what liquids would require tritium analysis.

We recommend the Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer, TVA Nuclear, verify and document all required analyses have been performed on liquids prior to release from the RCA.