No. III-09-025 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 September 11, 2009 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov

NRC CONFIRMS COMPLETION OF 2004 CONFIRMATORY ORDER 

REQUIREMENTS AT DAVIS-BESSE 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has determined that First Energy 

Nuclear Operating Co. (FENOC) has met the terms of a 2004 NRC order placing conditions on 

the restart of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station after a two-year shutdown following the 

discovery of severe reactor vessel head degradation. The plant is located 21 miles southeast of 

Toledo, Ohio. 

 In 2002, during NRC-required inspections, plant workers discovered a football-sized 

cavity atop the reactor vessel head. The cavity was caused by the accumulation of boric acid that, 

contrary to NRC regulations, had not been removed from the vessel head and was eating away at 

the metal lid. The NRC ordered the plant closed and it stayed closed for two years while 

undergoing increased NRC scrutiny in identifying and eliminating the cause of the vessel head 

degradation. The agency convened a Lessons Learned Task Force in 2002 to study the situation 

and the agency’s processes for ensuring reactor vessel head integrity. The task force developed 

recommendations focusing on preventing corrosion, ensuring effective communications and 

properly evaluating operating experience. 

 “The Davis-Besse incident provided a number of valuable lessons to the NRC and our 

licensees for improving safety,” said NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko. “We’ve implemented the 

task force’s recommendations over the past several years at Davis-Besse and plants around the 

country, and the recommendations have substantially strengthened and enhanced our evaluation 

and oversight process.” 

 The plant was not allowed to restart until the NRC concluded FENOC had made 

sufficient progress to assure the NRC the plant could operate safely. It was allowed to start again 

in 2004 under a variety of conditions – to which FENOC agreed – outlined in an NRC 

confirmatory order. 

 The restart order required Davis-Besse to perform annual independent assessments in the 

areas of operations, engineering, corrective actions, and safety culture for five years. It also 

required a one-time inspection of key components on the reactor vessel during a mid-cycle 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III 

2443 Warrenville Road 

Lisle IL 60532 
outage to make sure it wasn’t again subject to boric acid corrosion. The order was issued to give 

the NRC an additional measure of confidence that the company would maintain focus on the 

areas that had contributed to the reactor vessel head degradation. 

 The NRC determination that FENOC fulfilled all the requirements of the order were 

based on the review of all 20 independent assessments conducted at Davis-Besse, evaluation of 

the organization performing independent assessments, and observation of the independent team’s 

inspection activities. In addition, during the first three years following plant restart, the NRC 

conducted its own assessments of Davis-Besse’s safety culture and safety conscious work 

environment – areas that were key contributing factors to the reactor vessel head degradation. 

The NRC also observed portions of the plant’s examination of key components on the lower 

reactor vessel head and evaluated the results. The NRC will continue to monitor Davis-Besse’s 

performance through the agency’s rigorous oversight program. 

 In its letter to FENOC, the NRC said “Davis-Besse’s performance has improved over the 

past five years, based on trending the results from the independent assessments, the results from 

our special oversight inspection activities, and the results from our Reactor Oversight Process 

Base Line inspections completed.” FENOC paid the general fund an NRC fine of $5.45 million, 

a Justice Department fine of $28 million, and several individuals convicted of lying to the NRC 

were barred from the industry for a number of years. 

 

 Documents related to the reactor vessel head degradation at Davis-Besse can be located in 

the NRC’s electronic reading room at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html . A 

fact sheet outlining improvements resulting from the Davis-Besse incident is available on the 

NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/ . For assistance in 

locating documents, contact the Region 3 Office of Public Affairs or the Public Document Room 

at 1-800-397-4209. 

# # # 

 NRC news releases are available through a free list serve subscription at the following Web address: 

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html . The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE 

link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.