audio, stills, text and or video: Go to http://www.zReportage.com to see more - The world's nuclear power industry got a wake-up call when the Japanese nuclear plant Fukashima was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami. Operators of the 104 nuclear power plants in the U.S. began a reassessment of safety issues. Now, Watt's Bar is being singled-out as a threat to the entire area, and this isn't the first time. In the 1980s, an inspection of the plant uncovered over five thousand separate concerns which stopped the construction of both units. TVA was able to complete Unit 1 in 1996, at a cost of nearly billion. Watts Bar Unit 1 is the last nuclear power plant licensed in the U.S. In 2007, the public utility decided to complete the construction of Watts Bar Unit 2. The plant is currently scheduled to go online in 2012, the first U.S. nuclear power plant licensed in 16 years.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 28, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - EDDIE MOSES, 56, fishes from the bank of Tennessee River near the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant (in background).
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
May 5, 2011 - Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. - Dr. STEPHEN SMITH inside his home. Smith, a former veterinarian, has spent 28 years addressing important solutions impacting the modern environmental movement.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
May 4, 2011 - Loudon, Tennessee, U.S. - MANSOUR GUITY, at his home on the Tennessee River. Guity is a former senior nuclear engineer who was part of the now defunct TVA Nuclear Safety Review staff. His reports documented significant problems in construction of the reactors at the Watts Bar site in the mid-1980s, including conditions which remain unresolved.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 30, 2011 - Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S. - Visiting Boy Scouts view a nuclear energy display at American Museum of Science and Energy. The region's culture has a significant nuclear energy awareness due in large part to the 'Manhattan Project' of the 1940s.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 29, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is located just south of the Watts Bar Reservoir on the Tennessee River near Spring City. It is TVA's third nuclear power plant. Construction began in 1973, and Unit 1 began full commercial operation in 1996.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
May 7, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - A low-income family in a mobile home near Watts Bar power plant. The family, like many in the area, are indifferent to the power plant nearby.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
May 5, 2011 - Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. - An electric meter on the home of Dr. Smith, which measures electricity generated by his solar panels that he sells back to the power company. Smith, a former veterinarian, has spent 28 years addressing important solutions impacting the modern environmental movement.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 29, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - Work continues on No. 2 reactor turbines at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. The Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is located just south of Watts Bar Reservoir on the Tennessee River near Spring City in east Tennessee.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 29, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is located just south of Watts Bar Reservoir on the Tennessee River near Spring City in east Tennessee.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 29, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - Nuclear Reactor head in the No. 2 containment building. The head has been in place, unused for decades, after construction was halted in 1988. Officials expect to have it operational in 2012.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 29, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - Bond holders of the Watts Bar site tour the No. 2 control room of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, currently under construction.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 29, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - A control room of No. 2 reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, currently under construction.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
May 7, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - The Joker Bar, which is less than a mile from the Watts Bar power plant, is a favorite hangout for workers after their shift.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
May 7, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - The Joker Bar, which is less than a mile from the Watts Bar power plant, is a favorite hangout for workers after their shift.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
April 28, 2011 - Spring City, Tennessee, U.S. - JAMES FRY, 57, fishes on the Tennessee River near the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant. He routinely catches catfish at large as 50 pounds.
© Robin Rayne/zReportage.com/ZUMA
