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NFS has contaminated soils and groundwater on its property. True or False?
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True. NFS has operated in Erwin for over 50 years, and practices relating to disposal and handling of materials used in operations have changed during that time, as well as the regulations regarding disposal. NFS initiated a decommissioning/remediation project in the late 1980’s. Since the initiation of this project, the majority of these contaminants have been removed or treated and do not pose a threat to the public or the environment.
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Drinking water in the Town of Erwin has been contaminated by NFS. True or False?
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False. No sources of water for the Town of Erwin’s municipal water system have been contaminated by chemicals or radioactive material from NFS (a link to the water quality reports for the Town of Erwin can be found in the Useful Links section of this website).
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Drinking water for the Towns of Jonesborough and Greeneville has been contaminated by NFS. True or False?
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False. There has been no contamination of the drinking water supplies of Jonesborough or Greeneville by NFS. Independent laboratory analyses of these two water systems prove that effluents from NFS (chemical or radioactive) have not contaminated these water systems.
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There is no plan to notify the public in case of an emergency situation at NFS. True or False?
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False. NFS maintains an emergency plan that is approved by the US NRC. Emergency drills are held on a regular basis to practice and test how NFS’ own Emergency Response Organization integrates with local emergency and law enforcement authorities, area hospitals and other State and Federal authorities. Areas that are specifically evaluated by the NRC are NFS’ ability to interact with local law and emergency organizations and that required notifications to local, state, and federal agencies are made within 15 minutes of an emergency classification. Unicoi County also maintains an Emergency Plan and is responsible for notifying the public for emergency situations in Unicoi County. During NFS Emergency drills, the Unicoi County Emergency Management Director participates and is co-located within the central NFS Emergency Control Center.
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NFS could erupt in a mushroom-cloud-like nuclear explosion. True or False?
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False. There are no nuclear weapons at NFS and there is no accident scenario that could result in such an explosion. NFS' worst-case nuclear accident is an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction called a "criticality." Such an accident could result in the death of one or more NFS employees if they were close by when it occurred. An accident like this would trigger an alarm system that evacuates NFS employees and starts a well understood and regularly practiced emergency response. There has never been a criticality accident at NFS.
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