Davis Besse Nuclear Power Plant

The Davis Besse Nuclear Power Plant is located outside Oak Harbor, Ohio near the shore of Lake Erie. Its single Babcock and Wilcox pressurized water reactor was built in the early 1970s; the facility first came online in 1979. Originally financed by Toledo Edison and Cleveland Electric Illuminating, it is now owned and operated by FirstEnergy, Inc.

Davis-Besse has been the site of three of the most hazardous incidents over the past thirty years. Despite this, the plant has applied for an extension of its original operating license, which is set to expire in 2017.

Virtually all electrical power generation facilities constructed before the 1980s made extensive use of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials (ACMs).

Before that time, the health hazards of asbestos were largely unknown, although industry insiders at Raysbestos, W.R. Grace, Johns-Manville and other asbestos manufacturers had been well aware of the facts since the 1930s. In 1977, a plaintiff's attorney in an asbestos case discovered papers that outlined the four-decade conspiracy to keep the public ignorant of asbestos dangers.

Flame, excessive heat and electricity are all hazards at power generation plants. Because of this, power generation facilities made extensive use of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in their construction; such materials could also be used in the turbine machinery itself. Other asbestos hazards include:

• electrical cloth
• fire doors
• pipe and conduit lagging
• work surfaces

When these materials became friable (a crumbling state in which fibers are released into the environment), the resulting asbestos dust was not only inhaled, but could become lodged in workers' hair and clothing, subjecting unsuspecting family members to the hazards of secondary exposure.

In 2003, medical researchers in Puerto Rico examined chest x-rays from 1100 power plant workers. Signs of asbestos disease were seen in 13% of the subjects. Power plants are considered to be among the most hazardous industrial jobsites when it comes to asbestos by industrial safety experts. This danger was tragically extended to family members as well. Asbestos dust often became lodged in the hair and on the clothing of workers, who then unwittingly brought the substance home. Several recent asbestos cases have centered on instances of asbestos cancers resulting from such secondary exposure.

Those who were employed at such facilities prior to the early 1980s should discuss this with a medical professional if possible and receive frequent check-ups. Asbestos diseases such as mesothelioma have long latency periods; symptoms may not be apparent until several decades after such exposure. However, new tests allow pathologists to test for the protein “markers” that are indicative of the early stages of such cancers. Early detection and treatment can mean a much better long-term prognosis, although lifetime monitoring is usually required.

Because of its high resistance to transferring heat and electricity, the mineral asbestos was often utilized throughout numerous industrial sites throughout the US. It is ironic that saving lives was typically one of the driving justifications for utilizing asbestos in places for the outcome was actually to place employees at risk of serious illness or death due to contact with asbestos. The reason is that asbestos strands, if inhaled, can infiltrate internal organs, leading to life-threatening diseases including pleural plaques and lung cancer. The most deadly of the asbestos-caused disorders is pleural mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the cells lining the abdominal cavity; it is a disease that usually kills within two years of diagnosis.

Now, we are much more knowledgeable about the risks of inhaling asbestos, and health and safety statutes ensure the well-being of those whose jobs put them in contact with this potentially lethal mineral. Even as late as the 1970s, however, laborers without protective equipment commonly toiled in areas where asbestos dust filled the air. Family members were also subjected to asbestos exposure when job sites did not provide workplace-only uniforms, as workers carried asbestos dust home with them on their skin or in their hair.

Diseases such as mesothelioma can take 20 years or more to appear, and their symptoms can be difficult to distinguish from those of less serious conditions, so those who worked at these installations during their careers, as well as family members of such workers, should speak with their physicians about their history of asbestos exposure. Workers who may have been exposed to asbestos negligently should contact a mesothelioma attorney.

Sources

Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception: The Terrifying True Story of How Asbestos is Killing America. New York: Touchstone, 2003.

Cabrera-Santiago, Manuel et al. "Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Electrical Power Generation Workers in Puerto Rico." Presentation at American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, 2007.

Energy Information Administration. "Davis Besse." eia.doe.gov. 03 October 2008.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/davisbesse.html