07/16/02

No one likes delays, but if you're sitting a few miles away from Davis-Besse, the turned-off nuclear reactor with the hole in the top, you probably don't mind waiting for a few tests before it's turned on again.

Davis-Besse was shut down in March after a boric acid leak devoured a hole in the lid of the reactor. So, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has brought some much needed caution to FirstEnergy Corp.'s plan to get Davis-Besse working again by the end of the year. It nudged the company to conduct more thorough testing to make sure no radioactive leaks will develop after a replacement lid is put on the reactor. Before the reactor can be turned on again, FirstEnergy must carve a huge hole in the 300-foot-tall containment vessel that surrounds the reactor, remove its old lid and replace it with another.

If an accident occurs, that soaring containment vessel is the only barrier protecting Toledo-area suburbs.

FirstEnergy originally had planned to do a leak test that focused on the edges of the 20-by-20-foot hole the repair crew must make to get the lid into the containment vessel. But the NRC recommended more stringent testing that checks the entire container vessel for air leaks. Davis-Besse can be restarted only if no leaks appear.

It is good to see the NRC erring on the side of caution and public safety. Arguably, it did neither when it allowed Davis-Besse to delay its inspection until February, even though its staff engineers wanted to shut down the reactor because they suspected cracks had formed in nozzles around the reactor lid. They were right, and the nozzles were leaking acid that damaged the lid.

The NRC inspector general is investigating that puzzling decision.

Meanwhile, more stringent testing of Davis-Besse is a sign that the NRC is subjecting the plant to a level of scrutiny it has long needed.