The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found 'no issues' that would preclude the renewal of the operating licence for the Davis-Besse nuclear power station in Ohio.
The 970-MW Davis-Besse pressurized water reactor is operated by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), and its current operating licence expires on 22 April 2017.
In August 2010 FENOC submitted a licence renewal application to NRC. On 6 September The NRC announced that its staff had issued a final safety evaluation report (SER) for the proposed renewal of the operating license for Davis-Besse.
The SER documents the results of the NRC staff's review of the licence renewal application and site audit of Davis-Besse's ageing-management programs to address the safety of plant operations during the period of extended operation.
"Overall, the results show that FENOC has identified actions to manage the effects of ageing in the appropriate systems, structures and components of the plant, and that their functions will be maintained during the period of extended operation," NRC said in a statement.
Issuing the final SER is a significant milestone in the license renewal review process. An environmental part of the Davis-Besse application is still under review.
NRC said that a final licensing decision would not be made until the NRC completes its waste confidence rulemaking, currently scheduled for September 2014.
Photo: Davis-Besse (Source: NRC)
