The Lessons of Davis-Besse
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08/09/2004
Letter to NRC outlining games played with emergency siren testing (PDF)
Emergency sirens are located around nuclear plants to warn communities when a serious problem develops. The NRC requires plant owners to test the sirens periodically. The siren testing results are one of the performance indicators used by the NRC to monitor safety. UCS called the NRC’s attention to the fact that FirstEnergy had some siren problems that they tried to mask by conducting a whole bunch of tests. 09/20/2003
Speech at rally near Davis-Besse site (PDF)
UCS attended a rally near the plant site as restart loomed and spoke about the need for the NRC to fix its oversight problems before Davis-Besse restarts. FirstEnergy and the NRC each had major problems that allowed the Davis-Besse problems to happen. Both breakdowns needed to be fixed for the people of Ohio to receive the protection they expect and deserve. 04/15/2003
Legal memo for U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio (PDF)
UCS retained legal counsel and developed this legal memo outlining the apparent false and/or incomplete information provided by FirstEnergy to the NRC regarding conditions at Davis-Besse. 03/03/2003
Backgrounder for first anniversary of gaping hole being discovered in reactor vessel head
UCS prepared this retrospective pointing out that the damage to the reactor vessel head at Davis-Besse had been anticipated. After cracks in tubes passing through the reactor vessel head at the Oconee nuclear plant in spring 2001, the NRC looked at the 68 other nuclear reactors potentially affected by this problem. Davis-Besse was the only reactor that concerned the NRC to the degree that they drafted an order requiring the plant to be shut down. Unfortunately, NRC management ignored the concerns of its staff and allowed Davis-Besse to continue operating. 10/04/2002
Backgrounder on who made the bad decision about Davis-Besse (PDF)
In November 2001, the NRC staff prepared an order that would have required Davis-Besse to shut down. But that order was shelved and the plant continued operating. Based upon documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, UCS and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service reveal who made the decision, when it was made, and why it was made. 08/05/2002
Report on the regulatory breakdown at Davis-Besse
In November 2001, the NRC staff prepared an order that would have required Davis-Besse to shut down. But that order was shelved and the plant continued operating. Based upon documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, UCS and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service reveal how the NRC knew that conditions at Davis-Besse violated at least four of the agency’s five safety principles but let the reactor continue to operate. 08/13/2001
Not-So-Happy Anniversary: 10 Years of Band-Aid Fixes for CRDM Nozzle Cracking
Special Feature:
The NRC Inspector General Documents on Davis-Besse | 
