The infamous Davis-Besse nuke---the one with the hole in its head---may be
slouching toward new disaster. After nearly wiping out all of northern Ohio,
First Energy, the utility that owns this radioactive turkey, has spent several
hundred million bucks rushing it back toward operation. But there are critical
problems still outstanding. And there is more than ample wind power to
supply all the power the region needs without risking another Chernobyl.
So watch this space....in the coming days we'll outline some of the basic
problems and some of the things YOU can do to help keep this machine of mass
destruction permanently shut.
Meantime, read the press release below from the Union of Concerned
Scientists.
And go to
www.ohiocitizen.org/campaigns/electric/2003/nrc_email.html
to find out more, and to send a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
which could keep this damn thing down.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Dave Lochbaum or Eric Young at 202-223-6133
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
UCS Urges NRC to Delay Restart of Ohio Nuclear Plant
Pending Criminal Investigation
Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant Likely to Restart Before Completion of NRC
Investigation;
Plant Management Must Be Held Accountable
WASHINGTON, June 25 - The Union of Concerned Scientists today urged the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) not to allow the restart of the Davis-Besse
nuclear power plant until the agency has concluded its year-plus criminal
investigation into the near accident at the plant. UCS made public a lengthy legal
brief it has submitted to the NRC which concluded: "FirstEnergy falsely
represented the condition of the pressure vessel and associated piping in order to
avoid an NRC-ordered shutdown, and knowingly and recklessly exposed the people of
Ohio to a grave and preventable safety risk."
A recent independent audit also found that many workers at Davis-Besse have
serious ongoing concerns that senior managers whose actions helped lead to the
near-miss have not been held accountable and that there are still problems
with the safety culture at the plant.
"Many workers at Davis-Besse don't think those responsible for the
near-disaster have yet been ferreted out, so neither should the NRC," said David
Lochbaum, Nuclear Safety Engineer for UCS. "The agency should not allow a nuclear
plant that came so close to a meltdown to restart without completing all
necessary steps to prevent it from happening again."
The Union of Concerned Scientists retained legal counsel to detail the
factual basis for criminal prosecution of those responsible for the Davis-Besse
debacle. UCS's legal brief documented numerous statements repeatedly made by
FirstEnergy, many under oath, to the NRC about conditions at Davis-Besse that
have been proven to be false. FirstEnergy knew or should have known that these
statements were incorrect. UCS alleges that the false statements include:
· There are no structural impediments to the visibility of the reactor vessel
head.
· The reactor vessel head was cleaned before each inspection in order to
expose the bare metal for close visual examination.
· The reactor vessel head was inspected regularly using established
procedures.
Davis-Besse's problems surfaced in March 2002, when a hole more than six
inches deep was found in the lid of the reactor vessel. A thin layer of
stainless steel, which was bulging outward under the pressure, was all that remained
to prevent a potentially catastrophic release of radioactive material. FirstE
nergy estimated that the crack causing the vessel head damage formed in 1996.
Under NRC safety requirements, nuclear power plants are only permitted to
operate for six hours - not six years - with such a crack.
