Davis-Besse Containment Pressure Test Under Way
2003-04-08 13:53 ET - News Release
April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Nuclear
Operating Company (FENOC) announced today the initiation of
another important milestone in the restart process at the
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station -- a pressure test of the
1-1/2-inch thick steel vessel inside of the containment
building.
The test, called an integrated leak rate test, began late
yesterday and is expected to be completed by the end of the
week. It is required by Nuclear Regulatory Commission every 10
years, and was successfully performed at Davis- Besse in 2000.
However, because crews opened the containment building to
replace the reactor head last summer, the test is being
repeated now to verify the restoration of the structure.
The test is designed to verify the integrity of the
containment vessel, which measures 285-feet high and 130-feet
in diameter. The 2.8 million cubic feet of the containment
vessel houses the reactor and important safety equipment. The
leak rate test requires increasing the normal atmospheric
pressure inside containment to 38.5 pounds per cubic inch,
maintaining that pressure for about six hours, and using
instrumentation to verify the pressure.
"By the end of the week, we'll add this test to a long list
of important milestones we've reached on our way to restarting
this plant," said FENOC Chief Operating Officer and Site Vice
President Lew Myers. "We're making good progress, completing
more than 5,000 work activities since the first of the
year."
Those activities include: the design and installation of a
permanent reactor cavity seal; completion of the integrated
Safety Features Actuation System test, which checks most of
the important safety systems in the plant; modification of the
emergency containment sump; and installation of the FLUS Leak
Detection System on the bottom of the reactor vessel -- the
first time this state-of-the-art system has been used in a
U.S. nuclear power plant.
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company is a subsidiary of
the Akron, Ohio- based FirstEnergy Corp. , a registered public
utility holding company.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes
forward-looking statements based on information currently
available to management. Such statements are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties. These statements typically
contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate,"
"potential," "expect," "believe," "estimate" and similar
words. Actual results may differ materially due to the speed
and nature of increased competition and deregulation in the
electric utility industry, economic or weather conditions
affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets for
energy services, changing energy market prices, legislative
and regulatory changes or approvals (including revised
environmental requirements), availability and cost of capital,
inability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits of
strategic goals and other similar factors.
FirstEnergy Corp.
CONTACT: Richard Wilkins of FirstEnergy,
+1-419-321-7129
Web site: http://www.firstenergycorp.com/
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