Amended Record of Decision for the Production of Tritium in Commercial Light Water Reactors

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is amending the April 5, 2017 Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Production of Tritium in a Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR). The SEIS was issued March 4, 2016, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and adopted by TVA in its 2017 ROD. TVA is amending its previous decision to increase the number of tritium- producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs) irradiated in its reactors at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN). In partnership with NNSA, TVA initially decided to implement the CLWR SEIS Preferred Alternative, Alternative 6, which allows for the irradiation of up to a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months using TVA reactors at both the WBN and Sequoyah sites. Subsequent to the CLWR SEIS, WBN Unit 1 increased production under Unit 1 License Amendment 107 (July 2016) and Unit 2 tritium production was authorized under Unit 2 License Amendment 27 (May 2019). In April 2024, WBN Units 1 and 2 were further authorized to increase their tritium productions to 2,496 TPBARs in each unit under Unit 1 License Amendment 165 and Unit 2 License Amendment 72. Hence, TVA and NNSA are now opting to choose the previously analyzed CLWR SEIS Alternative 4, which allows for the irradiation of up to a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months at WBN using Units 1 and 2.