By Associated Press
Athens, AL – The Nuclear Regular Commission has given TVA's Browns Ferry Unit 1 reactor near Athens a ''degraded'' rating for a number of unplanned shutdowns in 2007.
NRC spokesman Ken Clark said the ''yellow'' performance rating means enhanced commission oversight, but the problem isn't considered a major safety violation.
Unit 1, shut down in 1985 for safety reasons, returned to service last May after a five-year, $1.8 billion restart project. According to TVA, the reactor has had five unplanned shutdowns since going back online.
The NRC sent an inspection team to the plant late last year to determine the reasons for the automatic shutdowns.
Clark said the inspection report will be made public this month.
A Browns Ferry spokesman the shutdowns were the only area where TVA got the degraded score.
Unit 1 has operated without interruption since October.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)