ROANE COUNTY, Tenn — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a 600-page safety evaluation Tuesday that determined no safety aspects would prevent issuing a permit for the proposed Clinch River Nuclear Site.
The site could create a smaller nuclear reactor for power production about five miles southwest of Oak Ridge. The Tennessee Valley Authority filed for an early site permit three years ago.
But for a permit to be issued, the NRC must evaluate the safety and environmental suitability for a proposed site to build and operate a nuclear power plant.
The agency’s most recent report on the Clinch River location evaluated the risks from potential accidents at a nuclear plant on site, as well as the major features of the TVA’s emergency plan.
Head of the NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Michael Corradini, wrote a letter to the NRC Chairman in support of the Clinch River location in January.
“The early site permit for the Clinch River Nuclear Site should be issued,” Corradini wrote.
The NRC also released an environmental impact statement on the application in April. A mandatory hearing on the permit will be held later this year.
