NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 801 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. III-02-048 August 8, 2002

CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC OVERSIGHT PANEL TO HOLD THREE MEETINGS ON DAVIS-BESSE 

REACTOR VESSEL HEAD DAMAGE IN LISLE, IL, AND OAK HARBOR, OH

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold one meeting on Thursday, August 15, in

Lisle, Illinois, and two meetings on Tuesday, August 20, in Oak Harbor, Ohio, to review the status

of activities at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station as a result of the corrosion damage to the

reactor vessel head. The plant, which has been shut down since February 16, is operated by

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company.

The August 15 meeting will be held at 1 p.m. (CDT) in the NRC’s Region III office, 801

Warrenville Road, in Lisle. Visitors should report first to the Second Floor reception area. The

meeting is open to public observation; before the meeting is adjourned, members of the public may

ask questions and provide comments. The NRC is making telephone bridge lines available to

members of the public who cannot attend. To access the conference, call (877) 352-5210; provide

the operator with pass code "Davis Besse" and the name "Cheryl Hausman." 

Arrangements are being made to make the meeting available for viewing by video

conference at the NRC’s Headquarters Office, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,

Rockville, Maryland. Check with Region III Public Affairs Office for the exact location.

The meeting will focus on Davis-Bess’s analysis of the root causes associated with

management, organizational effectiveness and human performance that are believed to have led to

the degradation of the reactor pressure vessel head.

Both August 20 meetings will be at the Oak Harbor High School Auditorium, 11661 West

State Route 163, in Oak Harbor.

The first meeting will begin at 2 p.m. (EDT), when the NRC oversight panel, set up to

coordinate the agency's activities associated with the corrosion damage to the reactor vessel head,

will meet with utility officials to discuss the status of repairs at the plant and upcoming activities.

The public is invited to observe the business portion of the meeting and will have an opportunity to

make comments and ask questions of the NRC staff before the meeting is adjourned.
The second meeting will begin at 7 p.m. (EDT) to update the public on NRC’s activities

related to the reactor vessel head degradation and will provide summaries of the earlier meetings.

The public will be invited to ask questions and make comments. 

Transcripts of all three meetings will be posted on the NRC’s web site.

The NRC oversight panel, created on April 29, includes NRC management and staff from its

Region III office in Lisle, Illinois, the NRC Headquarters office in Rockville, Maryland, and the

NRC Resident Inspector Office at the Davis-Besse site.

Documents on the Davis-Besse corrosion issue, including meeting transcripts and further

details on NRC's oversight panel activities, are posted on the NRC's web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/vessel-head-degradation.html.

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