nuclear-news

Doubts on safety of nuclear reactor close to Lake Erie

Problems at the Davis-Besse nuclear reactor near Toledo are worse than expected, cleveland.com, By John Funk, The Plain DealerApril 15, 2010, As many as 16 critical parts in the Davis-Besse reactor lid are cracked or flawed, and the problem could get worse.Engineers expect to find additional problems when they conduct a third round of high-tech inspections in the coming weeks.

The cracks can lead to radioactive coolant seeping into reactor lid, corroding it and ultimately leaking into the heavy-walled building containing the reactor. That’s what happened to Davis-Besse in 2002.

The reactor has been shut down since Feb. 28 for what owner FirstEnergy Corp. initially thought would be a fairly routine refueling and safety inspection. There is no re-start date at this point because of the time-consuming repairs that have barely begun and the planned additional inspections…….

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a watchdog group that does not oppose nuclear energy, has petitioned the NRC to force FirstEnergy to keep Davis-Besse shut down until it can prove the reactor can be safely operated. Problems at the Davis-Besse nuclear reactor near Toledo are worse than expected | cleveland.com

April 16, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radioactive, reactor