As before, panel discussions will update the public on the status and adequacy of recent Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station activities.

The FirstEnergy-owned facility was in the middle of a regular refueling outage in mid-February when an unprecedented pocket of corrosion was discovered on the reactor vessel head. Boric acid chewed a football-sized hole into the rounded steel dome, and a series of investigations is now under way. The NRC ordered the plant to remain shut down until the problem was fixed to its satisfaction.

On Sept. 17, the NRC oversight panel will meet with FirstEnergy officials at 2 p.m. to review the status of repairs at the Carroll Township plant.

Then at 7 p.m., NRC officials will update the public on the agency's activities related to the reactor head vessel damage. A summary of an earlier meeting will also be provided.

Both meetings will take place in the high school auditorium. Residents are invited to ask questions and make comments.

A third meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 18 at the Davis-Besse Energy Education Center, 5501 N. Ohio 2.

Topic: FirstEnergy's proposed plan to address management, organizational and human performance issues. These factors were discussed during an Aug. 15 public meeting in Lisle, Ill., as the root causes believed to have led to the corrosion problem.

Meeting transcripts will be posted on the NRC's Web site.

Documents related to the Davis-Besse shutdown are posted at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/vessel-head-degradation.html

Contact staff writer Rick Neale at 419-734-7506 or mailto:rneale@fremont.gannett.com