Report: Regulators suspected leak but kept nuclear plant open

The Associated Press
12/5/02 10:01 AM

OAK HARBOR, Ohio (AP) -- Nuclear regulators suspected there could be leaks at the Davis-Besse plant, but allowed it to stay open a few more weeks because they didn't think there was much risk, an agency report said.

The leaking acid nearly ate through the 6-inch thick steel cap that covers the plant's reactor vessel. It was the most extensive corrosion ever at a U.S. nuclear reactor and has kept the plant closed much of this year.

The leaks were discovered in March, during a maintenance shutdown.

The problem was found three weeks after Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. shut down the plant near Toledo for refueling on Feb. 16. The utility had asked to keep the plant running until then after regulators considered in November an emergency shutdown order.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission report released Wednesday shows agency officials suspected there might be some type of minor leakage with one or two of the 69 reactor-head nozzles.

But the report said the agency did not know about the extent of the corrosion from boric acid leaking out of the nozzles and onto the reactor head.

The NRC's criminal investigation unit is trying to determine what the agency knew in advance of the shutdown and whether FirstEnergy withheld photographs of the corrosion and other information.

Richard Wilkins, FirstEnergy spokesman, said the utility knew it had a leak but that it was "under technical specifications" allowed by the NRC.

"We assumed the risk to be minimal," he said.