ML041110943

From kanterella
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Objections to Confirmatory Order Modifying Davis-Besse License, Submitted by Intervenors
ML041110943
Person / Time
Site: Davis Besse Cleveland Electric icon.png
Issue date: 03/29/2004
From: Lodge T
- No Known Affiliation
To:
NRC/SECY/RAS
Julian E
References
+adjud/rulemjr200506, 50-346-CO, ASLBP 04-825-01-CO, EA-03-214, RAS 7621
Download: ML041110943 (12)
v • d • e


Text

RAS 7621 DOCKETED USNRC March 30,2004(10:OOAM)

OFFICE OF SECRETARY RULEMAKINGSAND ADJUDICATIONS STAFF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION I n t h e Matter of ) Docket No. 50-346 L i c e n s e No. NPF-3 FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating EA-03-2 1 4 Company OBJECTIONS TO CONFIRMATORY (Davis-Besse Nuclear Power ORDER MODIFYING LICENSE S t a t i o n , U n i t 1) 1 T e r r y J. Lodge (0029271) 316 N . Michigan S t .

S u i t e 520 Toledo, Ohio 43624-1627 1 ( 4 1 9 ) 255-7552 Fax: ( 4 1 9 ) 255-8582 Counsel f o r I n t e r v e n o r s 1

Now come Michael Keegan, Joanne DiRando, P a u l Gunter, and Donna Lueke, I n t e r v e n o r s h e r e i n , and s t a t e t h e f o l l o w i n g as and f o r t h e i r o b j e c t i o n s t o t h e " C o n f i r m a t o r y O r d e r Modifying License" i s s u e d by t h e U.S. Nuclear R e g u l a t o r y Commission, O f f i c e of N u c l e a r R e a c t o r R e g u l a t i o n , on March 5 , 2 0 0 4 :

1. I n t e r v e n o r Michael Keegan ( h e r e i n a f t e r " I n t e r v e n o r Keegan")

r e s i d e s a t 8 1 1 W. H a r r i s o n S t r e e t , Monroe, M I , approximately 30 s t r a i g h t - l i n e m i l e s from t h e Davis-Besse N u c l e a r Power s t a t i o n

( h e r e i n a f t e r "Davis-Besse"). I n t e r v e n o r Keegan i s concerned f o r h i s p e r s o n a l h e a l t h and s a f e t y , and t h e p u b l i c ' s h e a l t h and s a f e t y , and t h e l i v i n g environment as a consequence of t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e Davis-B e s s e Nuclear Power S t a t i o n . A s such, I n t e r v e n o r Keegan h a s t h e 1

r e q u i s i t e i n t e r e s t and s t a n d i n g t o r e q u e s t a h e a r i n g i n t h i s p r o c e e d i n g and t o p a r t i c i p a t e t h e r e i n .

2 - I n t e r v e n o r Joanne DiRando ( h e r e i n a f t e r I n t e r v e n o r DiRando" )

r e s i d e s a t 6747 Garden Road, Maumee, Ohio 43537, which i s approximate-l y 28 s t r a i g h t - l i n e m i l e s from Davis-Besse. I n t e r v e n o r DiRando is concerned f o r h e r p e r s o n a l h e a l t h and s a f e t y , and t h e p u b l i c ' s h e a l t h and safety, and the l i v i n g environment a s a consequence of t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e Davis-Besse Nuclear Power S t a t i o n . As s u c h ,

I n t e r v e n o r DiRando has t h e r e q u i s i t e i n t e r e s t and s t a n d i n g t o r e q u e s t a h e a r i n g i n t h i s p r o c e e d i n g and t o p a r t i c i p a t e t h e r e i n .

3. I n t e r v e n o r P a u l Gunter ( h e r e i n a f t e r " I n t e r v e n o r Gunter") i s D i r e c t o r o f t h e R e a c t o r Watchdog P r o j e c t o f t h e Nuclear I n f o r m a t i o n and Resource Service ( " N I R S " ) . N I R S i s a longtime g r a s s r o o t s o r g a n i z a t i o n d e d i c a t e d t o t h e development o f s a f e a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h e u s e of commercial n u c l e a r power f o r g e n e r a t i o n o f e l e c t r i c i t y and i s l o c a t e d a t 1 4 2 4 1 6 t h S t . , N.W., Ste. 4 0 4 , Washington, D.C. 20036.

I n t e r v e n o r Keegan i s a member of N I R S . I n t e r v e n o r Gunter i s concerned f o r t h e p u b l i c ' s h e a l t h and s a f e t y , and t h e l i v i n g environment o f t h e G r e a t L a k e s as a consequence of t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e D a v i s - B e s s e Nuclear P o w e r S t a t i o n . A s a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f N I R S and o f I n t e r v e n o r Keegan, I n t e r v e n o r G u n t e r p o s s e s s e s t h e r e q u i s i t e i n t e r e s t and s t a n d i n g t o r e q u e s t a h e a r i n g i n t h i s p r o c e e d i n g and t o p a r t i c i p a t e therein.

4 . I n t e r v e n o r Donna Lueke ( h e r e i n a f t e r " I n t e r v e n o r Lueke")

r e s i d e s a t 909 E l l i o t t S t . , Marblehead, OH 43440-2108, which i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 18 s t r a i g h t - l i n e m i l e s from Davis-Besse. Intervenor Lueke i s concerned f o r h e r p e r s o n a l h e a l t h and s a f e t y , and t h e 2

public's health and safety, and the living environment as a consequence of the operation of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station.

As such, Intervenor Lueke has the requisite interest and standing to request a hearing in this proceeding and to participate therein.

A. Illegal Substitution of Operator M a n u a l Actions for Meaningful F i r e Protection

5. On December 29, 2003, N I R S by letter requested the NRC 0350 Panel for the Davis-Besse nuclear power station to address several safety concerns regarding the compliance of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company' s (hereinafter "FENOC" ) current fire protection requirements at Davis-Besse with the Administrative Procedure Act and prior orders issued by NRC. N I R S alleged that these matters have direct bearing on the public safety and the proposed restart of the reactor.
6. Specifically, N I R S produced documents which appear to show that FENOC had illegally substituted non-compliant operator actions for operable fire protection systems as required under 10 C F R 5 0 Appendix R 111.G.2 .
7. In the referenced June 23, 2003 ernail, the lead fire Three documents accompanied N I R S ' letter: F O I A 2003-0358, Appendix N-19, 'A Memory Test and Possible Warning," Email exchange between Philip Qualls, U S NRC, and Dennis Kubicki, US DOE, June 24 and 26, 2003; Safety Evaluation Report (SER) of fire protection measures at Davis-Besse from 1991 released to the public through the N I R S via FOIA 2003-0358, Appendix LL, Safety Evaluation of Fire Protection Measures at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, Per Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50, May 30, 1991. The SER is referenced in the June 2003 email exchange between Mr. Qualls and Mr.

Kubicki; finally, the commitments embodied in an NRC Order issued in 1998 to restore functionality to fire protection systems required under the C F R to protect control room-operated electrical systems for power, control and instrumentation systems used to remotely shut down the reactor in the event of fire, "Confirmatory Order Modifying License," Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit N o . 1 (TAC N o . M855421, June 22, 1998.

3

p r o t e c t i o n e n g i n e e r a t t h e NRC n o t e d t h a t "A Region 111 i n s p e c t i o n r e c e n t l y found a SER dated May 31, 1 9 9 1 which approves some p r e t t y outrageous s t u f f . Things l i k e g o i n g t o TAF [Top o f A c t i v e F u e l ] ( f o r a B&W u n i t ) due t o PORV [ P r e s s u r e Operated R e l i e f V a l v e ] opening ( d o e s anybody s t i l l remember T M I ? ) , complete o p e r a t o r manual a c t i o n s ( i n l i e u of barriers f o r I I I . G . 2 ) , and a v a r i e t y o f f i r e p r o t e c t i o n i s s u e s

. . e .I' FOIA 2003-0358 Appendix N-19, e m a i l P. Q u a l l s , J u n e 2 4 ,

2 0 0 3 . N I R S a l l e g e d t h a t t h e r e w a s an a g e n c y - i d e n t i f i e d u n r e s o l v e d s a f e t y i s s u e r e g a r d i n g "complete manual a c t i o n s " p e r 1 0 CFR 5 0 Appendix R S e c t i o n I I I . G . 2 . Per the Qualls e m a i l , t h e Davis-Besse o p e r a t o r h a s s u b s t i t u t e d "manual a c t i o n s r E 2f o r p h y s i c a l s a f e t y p r o t e c t i o n s a g a i n s t f i r e i n t h e r e a c t o r complex. The Q u a l l s e m a i l s u b s t a n t i a t e s t h a t t h e r e f e r e n c e d manual a c t i o n s were n o t p r o p e r l y g r a n t e d as l i c e n s e amendments o r exemptions b e f o r e FENOC s u b s t i t u t e d them f o r t h e r e q u i r e d p h y s i c a l s e p a r a t i o n o f e l e c t r i c a l s y s t e m s o r a l t e r n a t e l y p r o t e c t i o n w i t h f i r e b a r r i e r s , s u p p r e s s i o n and d e t e c t i o n equipment.

8 . "Manual a c t i o n s " are n o t approved a l t e r n a t i v e s f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n of safe shutdown e l e c t r i c a l s y s t e m s as s p e c i f i e d i n S e c t i o n III.G.2. I n t h e v i e w of N I R S and t h e I n t e r v e n o r s , t h e s e 'manual a c t i o n s " a r e t h e r e f o r e i l l e g a l and c o n s t i t u t e an u n r e s o l v e d p u b l i c s a f e t y r i s k r e q u i r i n g r e s o l u t i o n p r i o r t o t h e r e s t a r t of Davis-Besse.

9. NRC s a f e t y s t u d i e s e s t a b l i s h t h a t f i r e a t a n u c l e a r power

'Where the licensee, rather than providing the required protection to control room-operated electrical systems for the remote shutdown of the reactor in the event of fire, instead sacrifices the remote function in event of fire with an intention to dispatch licensed or non-licensed operators into the reactor complex, potentially to areas involved in a fire, to shutdown equipment manually by turning valves, pulling circuit breakers and flipping switches.

4

s t a t i o n p r e s e n t s a s i g n i f i c a n t r i s k f o r e v e n t s t h a t c a n l e a d t o damage of t h e r e a c t o r c o r e and t h e p o t e n t i a l c a t a s t r o p h i c release o f radiation. Such a n e a r - c a t a s t r o p h i c f i r e a t t h e Browns F e r r y n u c l e a r power s t a t i o n i n March o f 1975 l e d t o t h e f o r m u l a t i o n of f i r e protection regulations requiring reactor operators t o protect e l e c t r i c a l cables, t o a s s u r e t h e remote shutdown of t h e r e a c t o r from t h e c o n t r o l room. 1 0 CFR 50 Appendix R " F i r e P r o t e c t i o n , " Section III.G.2. R e a c t o r o p e r a t o r s must a s s u r e t h a t no s i n g l e f i r e will d e s t r o y t h e c o n t r o l room's a b i l i t y t o r e m o t e l y shutdown t h e r e a c t o r i n t h e e v e n t of f i r e i n o r d e r t o p r o t e c t emergency backup e l e c t r i c a l s y s t e m s w i t h approved t h r e e - h o u r r a t e d f i r e b a r r i e r s , o r one-hour r a t e d f i r e b a r r i e r s used i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h smoke d e t e c t o r s and s p r i n k l e r s , o r a l t e r n a t e l y p h y s i c a l s e p a r a t i o n of redundant e l e c t r i c a l s y s t e m s by a minimum o f 2 0 - f e e t w i t h d e t e c t i o n and s u p p r e s s i o n equipment i n t h e area.

1 0 . I n s e p a r a t e b u t i d e n t i c a l Davis-Besse f i r e code v i o l a t i o n s i n v o l v i n g t h e s a m e 1 0 CFR 50 Appendix R I I I . G . 2 r e q u i r e m e n t s , FENOC w a s p l a c e d under a n NRC C o n f i r m a t o r y Order i s s u e d on June 2 2 , 1998 t o r e s t o r e f u n c t i o n a l i t y t o " i n o p e r a b l e " f i r e b a r r i e r s r e l i e d upon f o r t h e s a f e shutdown o f t h e r e a c t o r from t h e c o n t r o l room i n t h e event of fire. T h i s r e f e r r e d t o t h e u s e of a p r o d u c t c a l l e d Thermo-Lag 330 f o r r e q u i r e d f i r e b a r r i e r s , which w a s g e n e r i c a l l y declared " i n o p e r a b l e " by t h e NRC i n 1992 and o r d e r e d t o be r e p l a c e d . 3 I n 1998, t h e NRC o r d e r e d FENOC, w i t h F E N O C f s e x p r e s s c o n s e n t , t o r e s t o r e f u n c t i o n a l i t y of t h e f i r e b a r r i e r s no l a t e r t h a n December 31, 1998.

3See B u l l e t i n 92-01, " F a i l u r e of Thermo-Lag 330 F i r e B a r r i e r s To Maintain C a b l i n g i n Wide Trays and S m a l l Conduits Free From F i r e Damage," U.S. Nuclear R e g u l a t o r y Commission, June 2 4 , 1 9 9 2 .

5

11. The NRC responded t o NIRS' concerns by l e t t e r d a t e d March 4 ,

2004,4 s t a t i n g t h a t s t a f f had "reviewed t h e . . . procedure f o r a n t i c i p a t e d f i r e i n t h e c o n t r o l room and c a b l e s p r e a d i n g room, c a l c u l a t i o n s s u p p o r t i n g t h e p r o c e d u r e , and t h e t i m e l i n e f o r o p e r a t o r a c t i o n s a s s o c i a t e d with t h e procedure," c o n c l u d i n g t h a t t h e r e is

'reasonable a s s u r a n c e t h a t t h e p l a n t can be s a f e l y s h u t down. .. . ?I

12. This response i s inadequate i n t h a t t h e s u b s t i t u t i o n of manual o p e r a t o r a c t i o n s were accomplished i n a n i n f o r m a l , e f f e c t i v e l y secret and ad hoc manner, o u t s i d e t h e customary p u b l i c s c r u t i n y and i n p u t o p p o r t u n i t y a f f o r d e d b y NRC p r o c e d u r e s and r e q u i r e d b y t h e f e d e r a l Administrative Procedure A c t .

1 3 . T h i s secretive s u b s t i t u t i o n i n 1 9 9 1 of human f r a i l t y and f a l l i b i l i t y f o r genuine p h y s i c a l s a f e t y measures a t D a v i s - B e s s e ,

followed by F E N O C ' s i n a c t i o n i n t h e f a c e o f NRC o r d e r s f o r t h e n e x t s e v e n ( 7 ) y e a r s , c o i n c i d e s c l o s e l y w i t h t h e t i m e frame w i t h i n which FENOC evaded r e g u l a t o r y c o n t r o l as t h e company f a i l e d t o l o o k f o r and d e t e c t enormous c o r r o s i o n problems on t h e D a v i s - B e s s e r e a c t o r head.

FENOC's c o r p o r a t e i n d i f f e r e n c e t o t h e f i r e p r o t e c t i o n i s s u e , combined w i t h t h e f a c t t h a t t h e NRC w i l l n o t e n f o r c e s a f e t y r e g u l a t i o n s , i s t h e pre-eminent s a f e t y c u l t u r e problem i n t h e n u c l e a r i n d u s t r y . While t h e r e v e r s a l o f FENOC's c o r p o r a t e i n d i f f e r e n c e i s s u p p o s e d l y a t t h e h e a r t of t h e N R C ' s c o n f i r m a t o r y o r d e r , t h e NRC i t s e l f r e m a i n s unchanged i n i t s s u p e r f i c i a l "paper" r e g u l a t o r y approach t o m a t t e r s o f s a f e t y c o n c e r n a t n u c l e a r power r e a c t o r s . The "paper" review by t h e NRC i n 2003-2004 h a s e f f e c t i v e l y d e p r i v e d t h e p u b l i c , y e t a g a i n , o f t h e 4Does not appear at NRC website as of this writing.

o p p o r t u n i t y t o examine and q u e s t i o n t h e adequacy o f f i r e p r o t e c t i o n s a t Davis-Besse w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f a i p u b l i c l i c e n s e amendment proceeding.

B. A Continued Pattern of Regulatory Indifference t o Issues of Potential Safety Concern 1 4 . I n t h e w e e k s p r e c e d i n g t h e March 8 Confirmatory Order and s i n c e i t s i s s u a n c e , t h e NRC h a s c o n t i n u e d i t s p a t t e r n of p a s s i v e r e g u l a t i o n . On March 4 , 2004, t h e NRC propounded several i m p o r t a n t r o o t cause q u e s t i o n s t o FENOC c o n c e r n i n g a v e n t l i n e problem u n i q u e t o Davis-Besse which p o t e n t i a l l y c o u l d c a u s e c r a c k i n g o f nearby nozzles .. . [and] i f r e a l , c o u l d impact t h e c r a c k i n g a s s u m p t i o n s f o r t h e new RPV h e a d . 5 I n o t h e r words, a s o f the date o f t h i s writing, n e i t h e r FENOC nor the NRC have f u l l y i d e n t i f i e d t h e core causes of t h e Davis-Besse corrosion f i a s c o , much l e s s defined the technical means of preventing i t s re-occurrence. I n f a c t , FENOC h a s been g r a n t e d u n t i l May 2 5 , 2 0 0 4 t o respond (some two 1 2 ) months f o l l o w i n g t h e Davis-Besse r e s t a r t ) and it i s u n c l e a r whether even t h e n t h e r o o t c a u s e ( s ) f o r t h e n e a r - d i s a s t e r a t Davis-Besse w i l l be known.

15. The NRC on February 2 6 , 2 0 0 4 expanded t h e t i m e from March 4 ,

2 0 0 4 u n t i l March 31, 2005 f o r FENOC t o i n s p e c t and p l u g worn steam generator tubes.

5Letter, Jon B. Hopkins, (NRC) to Lew W. Myers (FENOC), Request for Additional Information Re: Root Cause Analysis, Accession No.ML0406404, http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/scripts/rwisapi.dl~/~pip.env?CQ SESSION KEY=GFI RFEXUWJSR&CQ QUERY HANDLE=125 114&CQQNUM=l&CQ-DOCUMENT=YES&CQ-ZAVE [ ResultsRetu rnFage]=results list .htmZ&CQ CUR DOCUMENT=I Davis-Besse, Package, One-Ti7me Extension of Steam Generator Tube Inservice Inspection Interval, ML040580026 2004-02-27 ML040440169+ML040570370+

FNWEBNAVIGATE=l.O SYSTEMTYPE=MEZZANINE DOCUMENTID=040580026 STARTPAGE=l LIBRARYNAME=ml adamshqntad01; Davis-Besse, License Amendment 262 regarding One-Time Extension of Steam Generator Tube Inservice Inspection Interval, ML040440169 2004-02-26 13 05000346 NPF-003 TAC MC1573 2004-02-26 2004-02-27 ML040580026+ February 26, 2004.

7

1 6 . The l a c k o f r e g u l a t o r y c o n s i s t e n c y e v i d e n c e d by t h e s e a c t s of t h e NRC d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e a b s e n c e of c u l t u r a l change w i t h t h e Commission i t s e l f , f o l l o w i n g d i s c o v e r y o f t h e n e a r - c a t a s t r o p h e a t Davis-Besse.

C. The Suspicious Lack of Civil Monetary and Non-monetary Penalties Against FENOC for the Corrosion Failures 1 7 . A s o f t h e t i m e o f t h i s w r i t i n g , t h e r e have b e e n no c i v i l monetary o r non-monetary s a n c t i o n s of any s o r t imposed upon FENOC as a r e s u l t of t h e a c t s o r o m i s s i o n s which culminated i n t h e c o r r o s i o n h o l e s and a s s o c i a t e d damage t o t h e Davis-Besse r e a c t o r .

1 8 . N o t o n l y have NRC s t a f f d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e d i n t h e i l l e g a l d e c i s i o n t o a l l o w t h e c o n t i n u e d o p e r a t i o n of Davis-Besse f o r a n a d d i t i o n a l 75 days i n 2001-2002 n o t been s u b j e c t e d t o d i s c i p l i n e , t h e NRC s t a f f d i r e c t o r , S a m C o l l i n s , h a s a c t u a l l y been promoted.

1 9 . FENOC m y s t e r i o u s l y p l a c e d an o r d e r , i n o r a b o u t December 2001, f o r t h e m a n u f a c t u r e of a new r e a c t o r head for D a v i s - B e s s e . FENOC a s s e r t s t h e new head was t o be u s e d as a f u t u r e r o u t i n e r e p l a c e m e n t 7 and w a s n o t r e l a t e d t o t h e d i s c o v e r y , some months l a t e r , of severe damage t o t h e o r i g i n a l Davis-Besse r e a c t o r head. After t h e c o r r o s i o n damage was d i s c o v e r e d and f o r weeks t h e r e a f t e r , t h e u t i l i t y r e s i s t e d replacement o f t h e damaged head, and i n s t e a d planned t o i n s t a l l a m e t a l "plug" i n t h e l a r g e s t of t h e c o r r o s i o n h o l e s . The f a c t t h a t t h e 7a C o r r o s i o n on a n o t h e r r e a c t o r head s p u r s review ," C l e v e l a n d ~- P l a i n Dealer, 3/29/02, h t t p : / / w w w . c l e v e l a n d . c o m / d a v i s b e s s e / i n d e x . s s f ? / d a v i s b e s s e / ~ o r e / 2 l . h t ~ ; "Lid f o r Davis-Besse r e a c t o r on o r d e r F i r s t E n e r g y f a c e s c o s t s o f r e p a i r s , energy p u r c h a s e s , " Cleveland P l a i n Dealer, 3/19/02, http://clevessf.dev.advance.net/davisbesse/more/28.ht~

8

u t i l i t y o r d e r e d a new r e a c t o r head a t t h e end o f a s e r i o u s c o n t r o v e r s y w i t h NRC s t a f f o v e r whether t o r e p l a c e t h e e x i s t i n g head, b u t b e f o r e d i s c o v e r y o f t h e advanced c o r r o s i o n a t Davis-Besse i s a v e r y remarkable coincidence.

2 0 . S i x ( 6 ) FENOC e x e c u t i v e s a l l e g e d l y s o l d t h e i r s t o c k shares i n F i r s t E n e r g y C o r p o r a t i o n b e f o r e p u b l i c announcement o f t h e d i s c o v e r y o f t h e c o r r o s i o n h o l e s w a s made i n e a r l y 2002.*

21. F i r s t E n e r g y h a s acknowledged i n f i n a n c i a l r e p o r t s t h a t t h e r e i s believed t o be a f e d e r a l c r i m i n a l grand j u r y convened i n C l e v e l a n d ,

Ohio t o i n v e s t i g a t e p o t e n t i a l c r i m i n a l wrongdoing a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e Davis-Besse c o r r o s i o n d e b a c l e .

2 2 . I n F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 3 , i t w a s l e a r n e d t h a t t h e emergency water c i r c u l a t i o n system, a sump pump, p r o b a b l y would have clogged and b e e n i n o p e r a b l e i f t h e r e a c t o r head had b u r s t due t o t h e s e v e r e c o r r o s i o n -

and it w a s f u r t h e r c a l c u l a t e d t h a t i t would not have f u n c t i o n e d c o r r e c t l y d u r i n g t h e e n t i r e o p e r a t i n g h i s t o r y of t h e p l a n t . g 2 3 . I n J u l y 2003 a t D a v i s - B e s s e it w a s d i s c o v e r e d t h a t valves i n h y d r o g e n - d e t e c t i o n equipment have i m p r o p e r l y been l e f t i n " c l o s e d "

p o s i t i o n s i n c e the plant w a s b u i l t . Those valves had s i n c e c o r r o d e d s h u t , and s o t h e s y s t e m t o d e t e r m i n e how much h i g h l y - e x p l o s i v e hydrogen h a s e s c a p e d i n t o t h e a i r i n t h e r e a c t o r b u i l d i n g ( n o t t h e o r e t i c a l ; a huge hydrogen bubble exploded a t TMI) might n o t have worked a s i t s h o u l d d u r i n g an emergency a t Davis-Besse and a hydrogen

buildup might not have been detected or the explosion threat correctly evaluated.

24. No less than Harold Denton, former director of nuclear reactor regulation at the NRC, who became known worldwide during his oversight of the Three Mile Island disaster in 1979 as President Jimmy Carters direct-reporting deputy on site, has pronounced the two worst U.S. commercial nuclear plant failings since 1979 to have taken place at Davis-Besse: (1) the corrosion holes discovered in 2002, and (2) the 12-minute interruption of feedwater to steam generators on June 9, 1985, which came within minutes of causing a meltdown in the reactor.
25. The NRC is inexplicably withholding the imposition of civil sanctions under the Atomic Energy Act against FENOC at this late date, more than two years after discovery of the corrosion hole and the management misdeeds which allowed damage to occur to the reactor.

Deferring civil sanctions protects FirstEnergy by minimizing the negative perception a criminal grand jury might take of FENOC as a result of a publicly-administered penalty. Deferring civil sanctions also has the effect of holding open an option to help FirstEnergy avoid the negative effects of criminal indictment, by allowing a large civil fine to be imposed in l i e u of criminal punishment of a corporation or its officers. This is precisely what the U.S.

Department of Justice has been credibly accused of doing after Rockwell International was purportedly indicted for criminal malfeasance in the mishandling of dangerous plutonium and other 10http://www.cleveland.com/davisbesse/index.ssf?/davisbesse/more/lO583485O3l57 842. html 11\\

Davis-Besse woes rated among Americas worst, http://www.to1edob1ade.com/apps/pbcs.d11/ar~ic1e?A1D=/20040312/NE~S17/1031201 28/-1/ARCHIVES30 10

weapons materials at the Rocky Flats Arsenal in Colorado in the late 1980's and early 1990'~.'~

26. It is against the public health and safety and the safety of the environment to allow Davis-Besse to restart operations until after the grand jury has made its report and until obvious, anticipated civil sanctions have been imposed under the Atomic Energy Act.

WHERJ?,FORE, the Intervenors pray the Commission grant them a hearing, at which they be allowed to put on evidence of their allegations; further, Intervenors request the Commission to suspend the operating license and halt the restart of Davis-Besse, and require FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company to satisfy all licensing criteria prior to being authorized to operate Davis-Besse Nuclear P o w e r Station or the commercial generation of electricity.

(419) 255-7552 Fax (419) 255-8582 Counsel for Intervenors CERTIFICATION OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I served a copy of the foregoing "Objections to Confirmatory Order Modifying License" by faxing and emailing the same to the Secretary, U . S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Chief, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington,- DC 20555 (facsimile no. 301-415-1672; email 1 and by mail copies via regular U.S. mail, postage prepaid, to Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U . S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement, U . S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; Regional Administrator U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region 111, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, 1 2 I\

Colorado Congressman Seeks Rocky F l a t s Probe,"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/O%2Cl282%2C-3892290~2COO.html 11

I l l i n o i s 60532-4351; and t o M r . L e w W. Myers, Chief O p e r a t i n g O f f i c e r ,

F i r s t E n e r g y Nuclear O p e r a t i n g Company, Davis-Besse Nuclear Power S t a t i o n , 5501 North S t a t e Route 2 , O a k Harbor, OH 43449-9760; a l l on t h i s 2 g t h day of March, 2 0 0 4 .

12

Retrieved from "https://kanterella.com/w/index.php?title=ML041110943&oldid=2622518"