NRC Begins Special Inspection at Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: III-23-007 April 25, 2023
Contact: Viktoria Mitlyng, 630-829-9662 Prema Chandrathil, 630-829-9663
NRC Begins Special Inspection at Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has launched a special inspection at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station to investigate the circumstances surrounding ground settling occurrences at various locations around the plant.
The NRC determined a special inspection was necessary after learning that an October 2022 fire protection piping failure was likely caused by excessive stresses on piping from ground settling; learning of an additional fire protection piping failure in March 2023; and becoming aware of multiple occurrences of ground settling at the site. Fire protection piping, a system related to safety, delivers water to the plant for firefighting purposes.
The five-person special inspection team will establish a historical sequence of events related to ground-settling zones and assess the licensee’s actions to evaluate, monitor or mitigate the phenomenon and its potential impact on equipment important to safety. The team has expertise in operations, fire protection, aging of components, license renewal, geotechnical science, geology and geophysics/seismology.
NRC inspectors verified the plant was in a safe condition and that the licensee took prompt action to restore the fire protection function after both fire protection piping failures.
Upon completion of the special inspection, NRC inspectors will document their findings in a publicly available inspection report, which will be distributed electronically to listserv subscribers and available on the NRC website.
The plant, located in Oak Harbor, Ohio, is operated by Energy Harbor Corp.
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