by John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer
The Union of Concerned Scientists is questioning whether the building housing the Davis-Besse nuclear reactor was properly designed and remains structurally sound.
The challenge comes about three weeks after
contractors cutting a hole in the building to replace the reactor's lid noticed a long hairline crack on one side of the opening. In a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the watchdog group has asked whether engineering specifications for the building's concrete walls were adequate to begin with.
While noting that the existence of numerous tiny cracks does not necessarily weaken the building, the group wants to know just how much of the building's main walls have been inspected with instruments for interior cracking.
The questions could delay the restart of the reactor unless Davis-Besse's owner, FirstEnergy Corp., can show that its inspections, analysis of the cracking and original engineering documents show that a healthy margin of safety was built into the 35-year old reactor building.
...
Called a "barrier building," the stand-alone structure is designed to protect the reactor from exterior forces, whether a terrorist in an airplane or a tornado. The round building's poured concrete walls are reinforced with heavy steel bars. A heavy steel dome is bolted to the top.
...
The NRC earlier issued a public notice warning
http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1129/ML11293A092.pdf that if inspections show the building's ability to function had been compromised, questions like what the watchdog group is asking would have to be resolved before the company could re-start the reactor.
...more...
Plain Dealer:
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/11/union_of_concerned_scientists.htmlUnion of Concerned Scientists:
http://www.ucsusa.org/
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