26 March 2002

NRC description and investigation of the dangerous corrosion, with documentation and photos of Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/vessel-head-degradation.html

New York Times report:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/26/national/26NUKE.html

[Federal Register: March 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 58)]
[Notices]               
[Page 13808-13809]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26mr02-83]                         

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 
Reactor Pressure Vessel Head Degradation and Reactor Coolant 
Pressure Boundary Integrity Issue

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of issuance.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued Bulletin
(BL) 2002-01 to all holders of operating licenses for pressurized-water 
nuclear power reactors, except those who have permanently ceased 
operations and have certified that fuel has been permanently removed 
from the reactor pressure vessel. It addresses the recent discovery of 
degradation in the reactor pressure vessel head at the Davis-Besse 
Nuclear Power Station and the concerns this has raised about the 
structural integrity of the reactor coolant pressure boundary 
throughout the pressurized-water reactor (PWR) industry. The purpose of 
the bulletin is to require PWR licensees to submit (1) information 
related to the integrity of the reactor coolant pressure boundary 
including the reactor pressure vessel head, at their respective 
facilities, and the extent to which inspections have been undertaken to 
satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, and (2) the basis for 
concluding that their plants satisfy applicable regulatory requirements 
related to the structural integrity of the reactor coolant pressure 
boundary and future inspections will ensure continued compliance with 
applicable regulatory requirements. This information is necessary to 
permit the assessment of plant-specific compliance with NRC 
regulations. The information will also be used by the NRC staff to 
determine the need for and to guide the development of additional 
regulatory actions to address reactor coolant pressure boundary 
integrity.

DATES: The bulletin was issued on March 18, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth J. Karwoski, at (301) 415-2752 
or by e-mail to kjk1@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Bulletin 2002-01 may be examined and/or 
copied for a fee at the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland, and is accessible electronically from the Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic 
Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/
reading-rm.html. The ADAMS Accession No. for the bulletin is 
ML020770497.
    If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in 
accessing documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document 
Room (PDR) Reference staff at 301-415-4737 or 1-800-397-4209, or by e-
mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of March 2002.


[[Page 13809]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David B. Matthews,
Director, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-7218 Filed 3-25-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P