Political Quotes

“Since the Davis-Besse plant came online in 1977, its corporate leadership has never understood nuclear power or its dangers. It is only the unionized workers that have saved our lives. The plant shares an old Babcock-and-Wilcox design with the Three Mile Island reactor that partially melted down in 1979. Another plant with the design, the Rancho Seco plant in Sacramento, California, permanently closed in 1989. Davis-Besse itself is now nearly 50 years old and has a dismal reputation within the industry and a history of too many close calls. In 1985, the plant suffered a loss of the main and backup supplies of cooling water because of a series of system failures, and this should have been a wake-up call, but it went unheeded. In 2002, we faced the worst nuclear safety incident since Three Mile Island when a major hole was discovered in Davis-Besse's reactor head, endangering the lives of millions of Ohioans and the purity of Lake Erie. The plant's unionized workers again saved us all. The Davis-Besse nuclear power plant, with its history of safety violations and close calls, is a clear example of how corporate culture can influence safety culture for the worst, and the industry around our country never held them accountable. The fines and penalties imposed on FirstEnergy have done little to deter misconduct. It is time for us to take bold action and provide our region with safe, advanced, modern power in a platform akin to the Tennessee Valley Authority.…”