Platts - Monday, November 24, 2003 http://www.platts.com ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--21Nov2003 Fenoc receives Davis-Besse grand jury subpoena A federal grand jury is seeking information about Davis- Besse's head degradation. In a document filed Nov. 21 with the Securities & Exchange Commission, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. (Fenoc) parent FirstEnergy Corp. said Fenoc recently received a grand jury subpoena that "calls for the production of certain documents and records relating to the inspection and maintenance" of the Davis-Besse reactor vessel head. The grand jury inquiry is related to an NRC Office of Investigations (OI) probe of Fenoc's conduct, including information the company provided to NRC before the unit shut down for inspections in February 2002. The unit was supposed to shut for inspection six weeks earlier but convinced NRC to allow continued operations; inspections then found that boric acid had eaten a hole in the reactor head down to the stainless steel liner. NRC Region III spokesman Jan Strasma said Nov. 21 that in September, OI referred the case to the U.S. attorney's office in Cleveland and that the OI investigation was continuing, in conjunction with the Department of Justice. The referral indicates NRC believes that there may have been criminal violations of agency regulations, including deliberately supplying false information. Fenoc spokesman Todd Schneider said Fenoc is "in the process" of supplying the requested documents. He said the company received the subpoena "just recently." ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--21Nov2003 KEDO announces suspension of deal to build reactors The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) made official a one-year suspension of its deal to build two LWRs in North Korea. The Nov. 21 announcement by KEDO, which was building the reactors in return for Pyongyang's renunciation of its indigenous nuclear program, was widely expected. The statement said that "conditions for continuing the Light-Water Reactor (LWR) project have not been met by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," a reference to the series of events beginning with the disclosure in October 2002 that the country was pursuing a uranium enrichment program, followed by Pyongyang's expulsion of IAEA inspectors and withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. According to the announcement, the suspension is to take effect Dec. 1 and be assessed before Dec. 1, 2004. The suspension has been portrayed by some observers as tantamount to termination, but a diplomatic source told Platts there is still a possibility of reviving energy assistance to North Korea. Such a move, he emphasized, depends in part on Pyongyang's adherence to the agreements and protocols it currently has in place with KEDO. ------------ Washington (Platts)--21Nov2003 FirstEnergy unit receives grand jury subpoena over Davis-Besse Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Friday said its FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company subsidiary had received a federal grand jury subpoena calling for it to produce certain documents and records related to the inspection and maintenance of the reactor vessel head at its Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in northern Ohio. In a filing today with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the utility said the documents are to be provided to the grand jury sitting in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division. It said FENOC intends to "fully comply" with the grand jury subpoena and the investigation. The company said it also remains liable for civil penalties from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in relation to Davis-Besse. The reactor was shut down in February 2002. Shortly after that date, workers discovered serious damage to the reactor vessel head and the company has come under NRC criticism for its maintenance program. FENOC is hoping to have the unit back in service before the end of the year. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--20Nov2003 Braidwood-2 claims U.S. record for fastest PWR refueling Exelon's Braidwood-2 claimed a U.S. record for quickest PWR refueling. The 15-day, 14-hour and 57-minute refueling, which ended Nov. 19, also is the second shortest for all U.S. LWRs, Exelon Nuclear said. Braidwood-2's outage was 48 minutes shorter than that of the previous PWR recordholder; Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point-4 refueled in 15 days, 15 hours and 45 minutes in spring 2002. The Tennessee Valley Authority's Browns Ferry-3 holds the U.S. record for fastest refueling of an LWR, with a 14-day, 16-hour outage, also ended in spring 2002. With its just-ended outage, Braidwood-2 reclaims the U.S. PWR refueling record the unit set in November 2000 with a 15-day, 16-hour and 45- minute outage. The 2000 outage time also was the quickest refueling for any U.S. LWR until last year. ------------ Vienna (Nuclear News Flashes)--20Nov2003 IAEA meeting on Iran safeguards 'breaches' ends abruptly The IAEA board adjourned abruptly, shortly after discussions began in response to Director General Mohamed ElBaradei's latest report on Iran's nuclear activities. ElBaradei spoke Nov. 20 for the first time of Iran's "breaches" of its IAEA safeguards agreement for clandestine enrichment, plutonium production, and other activities that Iran had previously failed to declare. Though Iran has taken or is in the process of taking "corrective actions," ElBaradei said, "these breaches and failures are, of themselves, a matter of deep concern and run counter to both the letter and the spirit" of the agreement. Diplomats said "breaches," the word favored by the U.S., is in sharp contrast to "noted"--the term used for the same activities in a resolution proposed by Britain, France, and Germany, though it also speaks of Iran's "failures" to meet its safeguards obligations. That draft "is no longer on the table" and is replaced by "another that speaks of both breaches and failures," one source said. The adjournment was reportedly triggered by the need to let members consult their governments on the amended draft. Sources said ElBaradei favors a strong resolution but does not seek one reporting Iran to the UN Security Council "just yet." ------------