Public grills NRC officials on Davis-Besse

FirstEnergy, commission blame Blizard of '78 for plant's problems

Kevin Kamps of Radioactive Waste Watchdog, left, and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, right, speak in opposition to the 20-year license extension proposed for the Davis-Besse nuclear plant.

The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth
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From left, Barry Allen, Ken Byrd, and Jon Hook of FirstEnergy speak during a meeting Thursday night. The meeting included representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and First Energy who discussed root cause for the shield building cracking at Davis-Besse and plans to fix the situation.

OAK HARBOR, Ohio — Calling FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Corp.'s Blizzard of '78 explanation for cracks in the concrete Shield Building at Davis-Besse nuclear power plant a "snow job," plant critics challenged federal regulators' acceptance of that finding and asked about the risk of future weather-related damage during a three-hour hearing Thursday night."I remember plenty of other times when we had lots of rain followed by falling temperatures. How could soaking followed by freezing only cause damage once in 40 years?" Joe Demare of Bowling Green asked during a question session after an hour-long Nuclear Regulatory Commission presentation explaining how they came to their conclusion.

About 100 people attended the NRC-sponsored hearing at Oak Harbor High School, the public's first formal chance to weigh in on an official explanation for the cracks found last year in the Shield Building near its outer layer of reinforcing steel. Contractors who cut through the structure in October to create an access hole for replacing Davis-Besse's reactor head discovered a hairline crack inside the wall, and further study of the structure revealed more extensive cracking in the concrete.

FENOC engineeres pinpointed the 1978 blizzard as the root cause, determining that the cracks formed when wind-whipped rain soaked into the concrete followed by a rapid, deep temperature drop that caused the moisture to freeze inside and expand. The report said the phenomenon is not believed to have repeated itself since then, with the structure remaining stable for 33 1/2 years before the cracks' discovery.

PHOTO GALLERY: FIrstEnergy, NRC address Davis-Besse concerns

About a dozen members of several anti-nuclear groups, including Beyond Nuclear, Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, and Don't Waste Michigan, held a news conference in front of the high school before the hearing. They said they have received part of the documentation from a Freedom Of Information Act request for the NRC's research and findings surrounding the cracking.

A summary of those findings released Wednesday by Beyond Nuclear derided the blizzard explanation and accused nuclear officials of lying about the cracking's severity.

The group accused FENOC and NRC officials of rushing through a restart decision in December, less than two months after the first crack was discovered, so that "FENOC executives and shareholders can make killer profits, salaries, and returns on their investment from electricity sales by a reactor that should have long ago been shut down for good."

Kevin Kamps of Radioactive Waste Watchdog, left, and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, right, speak in opposition to the 20-year license extension proposed for the Davis-Besse nuclear plant.

"How many radioactive bullets can we dodge at Davis-Besse? We cannot let this 35-year long 'game' of Radioactive Russian Roulette go on for another 25 years," the report states.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Cleveland) a frequent FirstEnergy critic who attended the news conference and the public hearing, said that according to documentation, the cracking occurred around the entire circumference of the structure and not just on the side exposed to the blizzard's wind.

"You don't have to be a nuclear scientist to understand that the physics don't work," he said.

But the NRC defended the finding that the storm was the cracks' cause, remarking that most of the damage was on the structure's south side, facing the strongest wind.

"They didn't just jump on this particular cause," said Melvin Holmberg, a senior reactor inspector with the NRC.

He pointed out that the team of inspectors and experts looked at 45 potential causes and spent more than 1,000 hours doing research, analysis, and testing of samples from the structure.

NRC and FENOC officials said several corrective actions are in place, including putting a sealant on the building and implementing a long-term program to monitor the building's crack formations.

NRC officials have stated that the Shield Building's strength lies in the rebar, or the webs of reinforcing steel encased by concrete, and therefore the structure was not compromised by the cracking.

U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich questions the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and FirstEnergy at Oak Harbor High School.

"Even without the coating, with the cracks, the building is still safe," said Steve Reynolds, director of division safety with the NRC's Region III office.

Some questioned why the cracking was not discovered earlier.

"It took 30 years for someone to find those cracks?" said Tim Dussel of Fostoria at the microphone.

Mr. Holmberg said because the cracking was on the interior subsurface, it could only be found by someone cutting into the structure. "…They put the hole where the crack was, and they found it," he said.

"Well, you better check the cooling tower, because that was in the blizzard too," Mr. Dussel said.

The anti-nuclear groups have collectively challenged a 20-year renewal of Davis-Besse's license, which expires in 2017.

Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear said during the meeting that an NRC employee reported in the study that he was concerned the concrete would fall, even under smaller stressors, and another was concerned with, not whether the concrete would fall off, but whether the Shield Building itself would stay standing.

Ann Marie Stone, a chief engineer for the NRC, said the plant will not be relicensed unless it has an approved program in place that proves it can continue to safely operate.

Contact Roberta Redfern at: rredfern@theblade.com or 419-724-6081.