Kucinich: To introduce legislation tightening rules on when a nuclear power plant must be shut down

FirstEnergy to be focus of hearings
Saturday, April 07, 2007John FunkPlain Dealer Reporter
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich said Friday that he will hold hearings into FirstEnergy Corp.'s management of its nuclear reactors and also introduce legislation tightening rules that govern when a nuclear power plant must be shut down.

The Cleveland Democrat, who chairs a subcommittee of the investigative House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said he believes Akron-based FirstEnergy is not competent to operate its four nuclear reactors.

The congressman has repeatedly - and unsuccessfully - asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to pull FirstEnergy's nuclear licenses after its Davis-Besse power plant near Toledo had to be shut down for two years beginning in 2002 because of severe corrosion linked to poor maintenance and inspection practices.

Company and NRC investigations concluded that Davis-Besse failed to comply with minimum NRC reactor cleanup and inspection standards. The investigations also reported that the corrosion ate through the reactor's heavy steel lid over four to six years.

In 2005, the NRC fined FirstEnergy $5.45 million for operating the reactor in a degraded condition and referred the case to the Justice Department. The company paid a $28 million fine in 2006 to settle criminal charges in U.S. District Court that its employees lied to the NRC about the plant's condition.

A grand jury indicted two former Davis- Besse engineers and a former consultant for lying. Trials are set for next month before a federal judge in Toledo. Now a new study argues that the corrosion process occurred much more quickly than either the company or the NRC believed, and it could not have been prevented.

The study was paid for by FirstEnergy for a pending $200 million insurance claim to cover power purchases during the shutdown and some of the Davis- Besse repairs.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/isope/1175950521274840.xml&coll=2

After all we all know that DK is just some far-left fringe wing-nut wacko that only runs to mollify his own ego and to spoil the chances of all our well meaning, well healed, "serious candidates".:sarcasm:

Imagine the temerity of trying to hold our noble corporate citizens accountable for their crimes, the nerve!
:kick: & R

You've nailed the DLC/hillary camp rhetoric perfectly.

If he is so ineffectual, what are they so afraid of?

and bringing to the national stage a much needed point of view regarding nuke power...and Iraq...and accountabilty.