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Fix Davis-Besse, but reject Kucinich
'help'
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| U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich indulged himself
in vintage Kucinich grandstanding recently over the troubled
Davis-Besse nuclear power plant west of Sandusky.
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Kucinich has called on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
to revoke the operating license of the aging plant.
The plant
has been shut down for a year. Last March, during maintenance, it
was discovered that leaking boric acid had chewed a big hole in the
reactor lid. Much criticism has been generated, rightly, over the
fact that plant operators and federal regulators both failed to
detect the problem much earlier.
We've already lambasted
plant owner FirstEnergy Corp. and federal regulators and have called
for a safe repair and tighter operation. We'll continue to watch the
situation.
However, Kucinich's request to revoke the plant's
license strikes us as overkill, tinged with the smell of
politics.
Kucinich seems to be aglow these days with
presidential ambitions. It is said he apparently plans to charm
Iowa, an early testing ground for White House
wannabes.
Portraying himself as a knight defending the
populace against a nuclear dragon is a headline-grabber. Kucinich is
an old master at that game.
Forcing the utility to go through
the licensing process again could be an unnecessarily burdensome and
punishing requirement. Let's just get the problems at the plant and
the agency fixed and move on, without taking FirstEnergy all the way
back to square one on licensing.
Safety must always come
first, but that doesn't mean unnecessary delays that put off the day
that the plant is back on line generating electricity and money,
instead of being a financial drain on a major area business and
employer.
Lorain County residents have seen Kucinich in
action, unfortunately, as an obstructionist. He has been a prime foe
of a commuter rail line that could link Cleveland and Lorain. His
opposition effectively blocks funding for the project that could
greatly benefit our area.
We suspect this region would be
better off getting Davis-Besse's problems resolved without the
benefit of Kucinich's ''help.''
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| ©The
Morning Journal 2003 |
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