New reactor head ready for Davis-Besse

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company FENOC, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., announced that the new reactor head for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, has been off-loaded at the Port of Cleveland and will be transported by truck to the plant by December 1.

Final work on the reactor head was completed in France, including the installation of control rod drive mechanism nozzles made of material less susceptible to cracking under high temperatures and pressures. The head measures nearly 17 feet in diameter, is eight-feet tall and weighs more than 82 tons. A comprehensive pre-service inspection was conducted by FENOC personnel before the head was shipped from Antwerp, Belgium, on November 5.

The new reactor head will be placed in a specially constructed building at Davis-Besse where new control rod drive mechanisms and other components will be fitted before installation takes place in the fall of 2011.