The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and FirstEnergy have postponed a meeting to discuss replacing, not repairing, the acid-damaged Davis-Besse reactor vessel head.

The meeting was originally scheduled for Monday afternoon at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md.

FirstEnergy has a nonbinding purchase agreement for an unused reactor vessel head now at a Michigan nuclear plant site.FirstEnergy does not know if the unused vessel head will fit on the Davis-Besse reactor, a company spokesman said.

The company is also developing a plan to repair the two acid-caused cavities in the 150-ton steel vessel head. NRC staff have said they would prefer seeing the vessel head replaced in its entirety.

In related news, the NRC yesterday formally announced the appointment of a new senior inspector at Davis-Besse in Oak Harbor, about 25 miles east of Toledo.

The NRC said Christopher S. Thomas began work at Davis-Besse in January. In March, boric acid damage was found at the plant, causing a prolonged shutdown. The NRC has another resident inspector at the plant, Doug Simpkins.