Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station

Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant northeast of Oak Harbor in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, approximately 25 miles east of the city of Toledo. It has a single pressurized water reactor. As of 2011, it is operated by the FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp.On March 5, 2002, maintenance workers discovered that corrosion had eaten a football-sized hole into the reactor vessel head of the Davis–Besse plant. Although the corrosion did not lead to an accident, this was considered to be a serious nuclear safety incident. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission kept Davis–Besse shut down until March 2004, so that FirstEnergy was able to perform all the necessary maintenance for safe operations. The NRC imposed its largest fine ever—more than $5 million—against FirstEnergy for the actions that led to the corrosion. The company paid an additional $28 million in fines under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.According to the NRC, Davis–Besse has been the source of two of the top five most dangerous nuclear incidents in the United States since 1979.