Photographic fall-out
Ron Miiler,
creator of "Now You Decide" and the show's moderator, asked
FirstEnergy spokesman Richard Wilkins why the company did not
disclose a startling photograph of reactor head corrosion to
NRC investigators in November 2001.
The photo sparked sensational newspaper reports earlier
this month. An NRC official described the omission as
"disingenious."
Wilkins said some media are acting as "judge and jury" on
the matter. He said the April 2000 corrosion image was one of
thousands of digital photographs routinely taken of activities
throughout the plant, and no cover-up took place.
"I seriously doubt there is any one person in the entire
plant who has seen all the photographs," he said.
|
PORT CLINTON -- Is Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station a safe
facility, despite serious, surprising damages found on its reactor
head?
FirstEnergy spokesman Richard Wilkins says yes. "You get the
brakes worn out on your car, you don't throw out the car. You
replace the brakes."
Or, is Davis-Besse an aging, ticking time bomb that needs
shuttered or drastically altered?
"As engineers predicted four decades ago, nuclear reactors aren't
going to last forever," says Amy Ryder, head of the Cleveland office
of Ohio Citizen Action. "We still have this issue of, the reactor's
just old."
Both clashed over Davis-Besse's past, present and future Tuesday
during a taping of "Now You Decide" at Port Clinton High School. The
educational access channel talk show, airing Dec. 29, featured
lively debate as Wilkins defended the facility, while Ryder railed
against restart of the plant.
The episode will air daily Dec. 29 through Jan. 11 at 8 a.m.,
noon, 9 p.m. and midnight on Adelphia Cable Channel 20.
During Davis-Besse's biannual refueling shutdown in February,
workers discovered an acid-chewed hole of unprecedented size on the
reactor head. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other agencies
launched investigations and the facility's been shut down ever
since, generating nationwide controversy.
In the aftermath, FirstEnergy has restructured its managerial
operations and estimates it might pour up to $300 million in repairs
into the
plant. Two weeks ago, company chairman and chief executive
officer, H. Peter Burg, garnered attention when he said he will not
let Davis-Besse become "a black hole for FirstEnergy."
During taping, Wilkins said FirstEnergy is confident the facility
will wrap up repairs and restart at an undetermined time early next
year. If political or financial strains become too extreme, however,
he said the company may be forced to "reconsider other options."
Hours afterward, Wilkins clarified that comment in a phone
interview:
"There are other options. (Burg) didn't specify what those
options were, but you could decommission it, you could mothball it,
you could sell it or lease it," Wilkins said.
Ryder's group, Ohio Citizen Action, started a public campaign in
September to convert Davis-Besse to a coal- or gas-fired facility.
And Friday, Ryder filed a complaint with the NRC that Davis-Besse
employees are forced to work too many hours, leaving them unfit for
duty. FirstEnergy has denied that claim.
"We believe that the plant has suffered from years of neglect,"
she said Tuesday. She claimed northern Ohio residents pay higher
electric bills because of nuclear power, and she said Davis-Besse
management and workers have communication problems.
During the program's "Don't Get Me Started" segment, commentators
Margaret Phillips and Quintin Smith differed sharply on Davis-Besse
opinions.
Phillips said the reactor head's football-sized acid hole was
nothing to "blink your eye at."
"I think it's time for a redesign of the plant," she said.
Smith said there's risk in anything you do and the plant should
reopen. "You can repair things internally, and they are new."
Contact staff writer Rick Neale at 419-734-7506 or mailto:rneale@fremont.gannett.com
Originally published Wednesday, December 18, 2002
