Regional News
| Article published Friday, September 26, 2003 Davis-Besse trial run encounters obstacle
OAK HARBOR, Ohio — First Energy Corp. may have
run into another obstacle in its attempt to complete Davis-Besse’s
week-long pressure test, the so-called “dress rehearsal” for
restarting the troubled nuclear plant. One of the plant’s two
auxiliary feed-water pump trains was declared inoperable shortly
after 11 p.m. Wednesday, because its timing was off. The company
thought it had the problem fixed yesterday, but additional tests
showed that it didn’t. “They’re looking at the situation now and
retesting the equipment,” said Richard Wilkins, a company spokesman,
who added he wasn’t sure if the problem would cause a delay. As
of last night, the plant was still at its optimum test levels of 523
degrees and 2,155 pounds per square inch of pressure, Mr. Wilkins
said. The company needs seven days of data to complete the test.
It got to the test level at 6 p.m. Sunday, nine days later than it
had planned because of various problems encountered since Sept. 10.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been notified of the latest
issue.
