Cracks show signs of leaking acid at Davis-Besse plant

OAK HARBOR, Ohio (AP) - Cracks have been found in the nozzles of a nuclear reactor head at a plant that was closed from 2002 to 2004 because of an acid leak.

Two cracks appear to show signs of leaking acid at the Davis-Besse plant just east of Toledo, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday.

Plant operator FirstEnergy Corp. appears to have caught the problem in its early stages and said that the cracks can be fixed.

The problems are in the reactor head that replaced the one where the acid leaks were found in 2002. That discovery led the government to beef up inspections and training and a record $28 million in fines against FirstEnergy.

The Akron-based utility said Monday that a dozen nozzles could be cracked and that it has not yet completed checks of 20 of the 69 control rod nozzles. Inspections will continue throughout the week.

"We have begun a comprehensive investigation to determine the underlying cause," said Barry Allen, a FirstEnergy vice president in charge of Davis-Besse.

Unlike eight years ago, FirstEnergy was quick to notify regulators.

The damage found in 2002 was the most extensive corrosion at a U.S. nuclear reactor. The NRC said then that FirstEnergy delayed a report and waited three months to notify regulators that its new findings about the damage had contradicted earlier conclusions.

The plant returned to full power in 2004 after FirstEnergy spent $600 million making repairs and buying replacement power because of the shutdown.