DB reactor could have operated for five months beyond the day theunit shut down

["Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@AECL.CA>]

NUCLEAR NEWS FLASHES - Tuesday, May 4, 2004

U.S. NEWS:

--DAVIS-BESSE COULD HAVE RUN FOR 2 TO 13 MORE MONTHS BEFORE FAILURE of the

reactor head cladding, an NRC-appointed expert panel has concluded in a

memorandum NRC released today. The panel's median estimate is that the

reactor could have operated for five months beyond the day the unit shut

down in mid-February 2002. It had been scheduled to operate for another 1.5

months before going off line for refueling and inspections, but, because of

concerns about potential boric acid leakage, NRC negotiated an agreement

with operator FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. for an early shutdown.

During the inspections, plant personnel discovered that boric acid had eaten

through the reactor head down to the stainless steel cladding. The members

of the panel were William Shack of Argonne National Laboratory, Gery

Wilkowski of the Engineering Mechanics Corporation of Columbus (Ohio), and

James Joyce of the U.S. Naval Academy.