Comment (7) of Tara Pilkinton on FR Doc # 2013-05491

Based on the age of the SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT plant and critical safety factors including flooding, earthquake and plant design Sequoyah’s license should not be extended. TVA’s Sequoyah is at risk from flooding which could result from the failure of upstream dams. The Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, which extends from southwest Virginia to northeast Alabama, is considered to be one of the most active seismic areas east of the Rocky Mountains. It has the potential to produce large magnitude earthquakes. Recent large earthquakes include a magnitude 4.6 that occurred in 1973 near Knoxville and the Fort Payne Earthquake, also a magnitude 4.6, that occurred in 2003 near Scottsboro, Alabama. The containment buildings of nuclear reactors must do two things without fail: contain radioactive emissions during an accident and prevent intrusion from outside forces such as wind driven objects and man-made missiles. Sequoyah’s nuclear reactors utilize “ice condenser” containment structures. Ice condenser nuclear reactors utilize baskets office to reduce heat and pressure in the event of an accident, preventing damage to the containment and leaks of radioactive steam. Typical nuclear power plants have concrete containment several feet thick, but ice condenser reactors substitute a steel shell of smaller volume and less ability to withstand pressure. Ice condenser reactors economize on concrete and are less robust because of this construction method.