Davis-Besse nuke license renewal challenged due to cracking issue

Matthew Bandyk at SNL has quoted Beyond Nuclear:

"The prospect of 22 more years of radioactive Russian roulette on the Lake Erie shore, with a cracked concrete containment, and paid for by a multibillion-dollar ratepayer bailout, is outrageous, and must be prevented," the group said in a Nov. 7 report following the hearings...

Beyond Nuclear pointed to testimony from a Sept. 23 NRC meeting, in which an NRC engineer said it was "possible," although "unlikely," that an earthquake could cause a cracked piece of concrete to "spall off." Concrete that fell off the shield building could damage the plant's auxiliary building, which is used to house safety features like emergency cooling systems...

In most cases, the NRC staff can complete a license renewal review in about two years, according to NRC spokesman Scott Burnell. But FirstEnergy submitted its application for Davis-Besse in 2010. It is typical for renewals that involve proceedings before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to take longer, he said. Beyond Nuclear and several other groups, such as the Ohio Green Party, filed multiple contentions about the cracking to try to block Davis-Besse's license renewal, but the board refused to grant them a hearing.

FirstEnergy President and CEO Charles Jones Jr. recently said that in early 2016 it expects a settlement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio that will resolve the proposed power purchase agreement. Beyond Nuclear called upon Ohio residents to oppose the agreement, saying it amounts to "$3 billion in ratepayer subsidies, to prop up [FirstEnergy's] age-degraded and uncompetitive Davis-Besse reactor" and that it would cost more than $3 billion to replace Davis-Besse's reactor containment if the cracks worsened.