Besse troubles bring big fine

[jpak]

http://www.cleveland.com/powerplants/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1114162610159260.xml

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it would fine FirstEnergy Corp. a record $5.45 million for the mess at its Davis-Besse power plant. It was a fraction of the $75.8 million in penalties the agency could have levied.

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The more than $600 million the company spent on repairs and replacement power between Davis-Besse's March 2002 shutdown and its March 2004 restart had a much greater financial impact, said Merschoff, than any fine the agency could have levied.

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The lion's share of the penalty, $5 million, is for the company's decision in 2000 to restart the reactor without cleaning the corrosion from its lid and then operating it for two years as the corrosion ate through the 6½-inch steel lid, leaving only a thin stainless steel liner to hold back 87,000 gallons of radioactive coolant pressurized to more than one ton per square inch.

Later NRC studies showed the reactor would have ruptured within two to 13 months had a worker not stumbled on the pineapple-size hole while making other repairs during a refueling in March 2002.

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[sickinohio]

1. And to think I live only

about three miles from the plant

[jpak]

2. FirstEnergy has other problems too...

FirstEnergy, one nuclear plant back, has another under spotlight

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14365786&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

NORTH PERRY -- FirstEnergy Corp. was still struggling to get one nuclear power plant back in operation when a series of problems and botched repairs at its second Ohio plant alarmed critics and put the utility in the cross hairs of regulators. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees the industry, rates as safe the Davis-Besse and Perry plants, located alongside Lake Erie 107 miles apart, and FirstEnergy's Beaver Valley operation in Shippingport, Pa.

Davis-Besse, whose corroding shield discovered in 2002 ranks among the nation's worst nuclear problems since Three Mile Island in 1979, and Perry currently are among four of the U.S. nuclear plants under the strictest NRC scrutiny. That means more government inspectors in the plants making safety checks from top to bottom.

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By the time Davis-Besse, about 30 miles east of Toledo, was back in operation, FirstEnergy was struggling with the aftermath of the 2003 blackout and an emerging pattern of repair problems at Perry. An emergency service water pump failed twice and a broken instrument gave a false indication of elevated radiation.

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Howard Whitcomb of Oak Harbor, who lives seven miles from Davis-Besse and worked there as a nuclear scientist before setting up a law practice, doubts FirstEnergy has solved the ''safety culture'' issue. That commitment to an unwavering approach to safety first was a key issue for regulators as FirstEnergy worked to get Davis-Besse back online.

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