Operators at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant averted an outage at unit 2 Thursday morning when multiple safety systems down for repairs briefly required the reactor to power down.A scheduled maintenance project had taken core spray systems offline earlier. During normal operation at full power, workers found a leak in another system that provides cooling water to an emergency diesel generator, according to a report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Because both the generator and the spray systems were declared inoperable at the same time, the reactor's technical specifications required that it be taken offline. Operators had reduced the unit's output by two percent before restoring the core spray system to operable status and cancelling the shutdown.The event, while not resulting in any danger to the plant or the public, will be entered into the unit's existing corrective action program. All three units at Browns Ferry undergo supplemental NRC inspections stemming from previous deficiencies cited by the agency. The Tennessee Valley Authority has been working to improve plant performance in recent years, setting aside $130 million for safety enhancements in 2013.
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