NRC: News Release - Region III - 2003-078 - Davis-Besse Restart Meeting Postponed to Dec. 29, Meeting on NRC Inspection Findings Delayed until Dec. 19

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NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region III
801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
www.nrc.gov

No. III-03-078		December 15, 2003
CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662	E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov
DAVIS-BESSE RESTART MEETING POSTPONED TO DEC. 29, MEETING ON NRC INSPECTION FINDINGS DELAYED UNTIL DEC. 19 Printable Version
The December 18 meeting between the NRC Oversight Panel and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company to discuss the utility’s request to resume operation of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant has been postponed until December 29 at the request of the utility. Details of the meeting will be announced later this week. In addition, a meeting between the NRC and FirstEnergy will be held on Friday, December 19 to discuss the preliminary findings of two NRC inspections: (1) the Restart Readiness Assessment Team Inspection, which began December 8, and (2) the inspection reviewing management and human performance at Davis-Besse, including the safety culture of the plant staff, which has been underway for several months. The management and human performance inspection meeting had previously been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 18. The December 19 meeting will be at 9 a.m. EST in the Davis-Besse Administration Building, 5503 North State Route 2, Oak Harbor. The public is invited to observe the business portion of the December 19 meeting and will have an opportunity to make comments and ask questions of the NRC staff before the meeting is adjourned. The meeting will also be available for by teleconference using the toll-free number 888-769-8716. Give the password “Davis-Besse” at the prompt. As indicated at the time the December 18 restart meeting was scheduled, the meeting was contingent on the plant beginning preparations for startup which involve gradually building up heat and pressure in the reactor cooling system using the reactor cooling pumps. Because of equipment and operational issues, the heat buildup has been delayed to the point where the Restart Readiness Assessment Team Inspection would not have sufficient time to observe and assess the plant staff’s performance prior to the restart meeting as originally scheduled.