A 661-page report that FirstEnergy submitted to its insurance company in hopes of recouping $200 million for the near-rupture of Davis-Besse's old reactor head in 2002 is being viewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's enforcement office "with skepticism," according to a document filed in federal court late yesterday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Justice Department acknowledged for the first time that contradictions between the position of FirstEnergy's new consultants and previous government research "appear to be particularly significant."

"It appears that the [new] Wastage Event report [written by FirstEnergy's consultants] arrives at its conclusions by selectively ignoring contrary evidence," U.S. Attorney Greg White and three other federal prosecutors - Richard Poole, Thomas Ballantine, and Christian Stickan - said in their joint filing in a case being heard by U.S. District Judge David Katz of Toledo.

The case involves two former Davis-Besse engineers and an outside contractor accused of lying to the government about the plant's dangerous condition in the fall of 2001. Each defendant faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted.

The plant's old reactor head was eroded so much by leaky acid that it nearly blew apart, which would have allowed radioactive steam to form. The deterioration was unprecedented in U.S. nuclear history.

Government researchers have said the problem took years to develop, a claim that was backed up in 2002 by FirstEnergy's own root-cause report.

But utility-hired consultants concluded in December that most of the deterioration occurred three weeks before the plant's Feb. 16, 2002, shutdown. The consultants' report suggests the event was a fluke and that FirstEnergy was not at fault for what happened.

But Judge Katz said in court on April 20 that he was uncomfortable proceeding until the NRC came out and said whether it believes FirstEnergy's new report is "junk science" or not.

The regulatory commission still has not done that.

David McIntyre, agency spokesman, reiterated yester-day it is awaiting FirstEnergy's response to a "Demand for Information" it sent Monday to Anthony Alexander, the utility's chief operating officer and top official. It is due June 13 and is to be submitted under oath.

Mr. Alexander's response has the potential of affecting the outcome of the criminal case as well as the future of the utility itself.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it is contemplating a range of enforcement actions that could include revoking the operating licenses that FirstEnergy holds for its Davis-Besse plant east of Toledo, its Perry nuclear plant east of Cleveland, and its twin-reactor Beaver Valley complex west of Pittsburgh.

The filing makes no reference to a supplemental 96-page report that had similar conclusions. Judge Katz had not seen it when he asked the Justice Department for the NRC's assessment on April 20.

FirstEnergy, for its part, wants the public to know it "continues to accept full responsibility" for what happened at Davis-Besse.

"These reports were not intended to imply that we do not accept responsibility, but rather to show compliance with [insurance] policy terms that we did not purposely cause the insured loss," according to an excerpt from a Letter to the Editor submitted to The Blade yesterday morning for publication. The letter was signed by Mr. Alexander.

It went on to say FirstEnergy continues to "accept full responsibility for our actions and omissions at Davis-Besse."

The letter, at one point, even states that FirstEnergy's nuclear operating company "admitted wrongdoing to the Department of Justice and to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission," although the agreement announced by federal prosecutors on Jan. 20, 2006, stated that FirstEnergy would pay a record $28 million fine without admitting to anything.

The fine was the result of a criminal investigation that resulted in the indictments against the three men who formerly worked at the plant near Oak Harbor, Ohio.

FirstEnergy also has paid a $5.45 million fine for civil infractions.

The NRC had no comment about Mr. Alexander's letter.

Contact Tom Henry at:

thenry@theblade.com

or 419-724-6079.

First Published May 19, 2007, 10:18 a.m.