Earlier this week in Oak Harbor, Ohio, the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant was shut down after a steam leak was detected in a non-radioactive portion of the facility.
FirstEnergy Corp officials insist that the leak has now been repaired and it expect the reactor to be back up to full-power by today. No cause for alarm, right?
This is not the first time that the David-Besse plant has been in the news. The facility has been the center of controversy since 2000, and critics say that it’s one of the country best examples of the danger presented by America’s crumbling nuclear infrastructure.
Back in 2002 the plant was forced into shut down mode after this shocking discovery:
‘The Ohio plant was closed in 2002 after inspectors found that an acid leak had nearly eaten through the reactor’s 6-inch-thick steel cap. The corrosion at the plant near Oak Harbor was the worst ever found at a U. S. reactor…’
Also back in 2001, key staff were charged with lax practices, although certain individuals were eventually reinstated:
‘The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Monday made it possible for former Davis-Besse engineer Andrew Siemaszko to resume his career in the nuclear industry as early as April. But Siemaszko – who was convicted last August of deceiving the government about the plant’s dangerous operating condition in the fall of 2001 – would first have to get approval from his probation officer… Siemaszko, who has maintained his innocence, was one of four workers who prosecutors claimed were at the center of the cover-up.’
This post was published at 21st Century Wire on MAY 15, 2015.
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