PRESS ADVISORY

 

Hearings on the Davis-Besse nuclear reactor license extension to be held at Common Pleas Courtroom of the Lucas County Courthouse, 700 Adams St., in Toledo, Ohio.  Argument will start at 9 a.m. and continue to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 5, resuming on Nov. 6 if necessary.

 

Contacts:         Michael J. Keegan, Don’t Waste Michigan (734) 770-1441 (not available during hearing hours)

Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear (240) 462-3216 (not available during hearing hours)

 

Toledo, Ohio – Monday November 5^th FirstEnergy's attempt for a 20 year license extension at Davis-Besse nuclear power plant will be challenged.  The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) will hear oral arguments in opposition to the license extension from legal Intervenors of Beyond Nuclear, Citizens Environment Alliance Southwestern Ontario, Don't Waste Michigan and Green Party of Ohio.  The ASLB Panel is the division of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that presides over hearings.

 

The Intervenors contend that the Davis-Besse nuclear plant presents undue risk to the environs of Ohio, Michigan and Ontario and that mitigation in the event of a severe accident is grossly inadequate.  In addition Intervenors contend that the cracks in the Shield Containment Building must be considered in re-licensing proceedings. Learn more about the Intervention at the following Beyond Nuclear links: http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2012/9/15/sama-contention-defended-resistance-to-davis-besse-license-e.html  http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2012/8/17/crack-contention-against-davis-besse-20-year-extension-bolst.html

 

NRC Press Release:

ASLB TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENTS NOV. 5-6 ON CONTENTION

REGARDING CRACKS IN DAVIS-BESSE SHIELD BUILDING

 

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will hear oral arguments Nov. 5-6 on a new contention in the Davis-Besse nuclear plant relicensing hearing. The contention alleges that cracks in the plant’s shield building should be considered “an aging-related feature” that would preclude renewing the plant’s operating license for an additional 20 years.

 

The contention was filed in January by four intervenors in the hearing: Beyond Nuclear, Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, Don’t Waste Michigan, and the Green Party of Ohio. The oral arguments will discuss whether the Board should admit the contention. The oral arguments were originally scheduled for May 18 but were postponed at the request of the intervenors.

 

The Board will also consider a motion by FirstEnergy, the plant’s operator, to dismiss a separate contention challenging inputs to the operator’s Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives analysis.

The oral arguments will be held in the Common Pleas Courtroom of the Lucas County Courthouse, 700 Adams St., in Toledo, Ohio. Argument will start at 9 a.m. and continue to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 5, resuming on Nov. 6 if necessary. More information about the issues to be discussed and the format of the oral argument can be found in a Board Order issued Sept. 20.

 

Only lawyers for the intervenors, the NRC staff and FirstEnergy will be allowed to participate. The public and media are welcome to attend, but signs, banners, posters or other displays will not be permitted in the courtroom.

 

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