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Local
Companies | Article published October 17, 2002
Nuclear plant studies old reactor for other leaks, source
of acid
OAK HARBOR, Ohio - Officials at the Davis-Besse
nuclear power plant are looking at rust found at the bottom of the
plant’s old reactor head to see if more nozzles were leaking than
they originally realized.
The boric acid found on the bottom
of the reactor head could have leaked down its side from nozzles
above the head that corroded and left a football-sized hole in the
carbon steel.
But tests to find out where the acid originated
were inconclusive, said Bob Schrauder, vice president of support
services for FirstEnergy, the parent company of
Davis-Besse.
The boric acid was discussed yesterday at a
public hearing between the company and the federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, where the plant updated the agency on its
restarting. The plant has been shut down since February.
Also
yesterday, the NRC said it added two items to the list of
requirements Davis-Besse must meet before it restarts. The agency
wants to review the plant’s radiation protection program after six
workers were allowed to leave the plant with radioactive particles
on them. Two workers inhaled "relatively high" doses of radiation,
the NRC found.
The agency also said it plans to review the
containment sump system. Christine Lipa, who is on the NRC panel
overseeing Davis-Besse’s restart, said the agency will look at the
system’s past performance because it is an important safety
device.
NRC panel head Jack Grobe said two of the agency’s
inspections are almost done; three others cannot be completed
because Davis-Besse has more work to do.
In an evening public
meeting at Oak Harbor High School, some residents complained about
the relationship between the NRC and Davis-Besse.
"Over the
past several months, FirstEnergy has continued to conduct its
affairs as it always has and the NRC has passively watched it
occur," Howard Whitcomb, an Oak Harbor lawyer, said. "Unfortunately,
it is obvious that the NRC has accepted, even embraced,
FirstEnergy’s methods of doing business without
reservation."
David Lochbaum, a Washington nuclear safety
engineer, said many in the Oak Harbor community have lost faith -
not only in Davis-Besse, but in the NRC to regulate it.
Donna
Lueke, of Marblehead, Ohio, said some of the problems that plagued
FirstEnergy in identifying problems at Davis-Besse also might be
affecting the NRC. "You’ve found one of the problems with
[FirstEnergy] was its corporate culture," she said. "I submit that
the root cause of the NRC investigating Davis-Besse is the same. You
spend so much time dealing with the licensees and the staff. You
only connect with the public when it relates to crisis
situations."
NRC members said they felt uncomfortable being
on stage and apart from the audience. Tim Dussell, of Fostoria, used
those comments to explain residents’ feelings. "You feel
uncomfortable sitting in front of us," he said. "I feel
uncomfortable sitting in front of Davis-Besse every day. I’m not
just uncomfortable, I’m downright scared. That’s how we
feel."
- KELLY LECKER and CLYDE HUGHES
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