PHILADELPHIA -- General Public Utilities Corp., owner of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, sued the federal government for $4 billion Thursday, charging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission withheld information that would have prevented the nation's worst commercial nuclear accident.
GPU alleged in a U.S. District Court complaint that 'negligence and omissions by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the performance of its duties and reponsibilities were causes of the TMI accident and the resultant damages to GPU.'
GPU, of Parsippany, N.J., sought to recover cleanup and restoration costs and lost revenue resulting from the accident at the plant near Harrisburg, Pa., on March 28, 1979.
GPU alleged that inspectors and other officials of the NRC learned of a similar malfunction in the water cooling system at the Davis-Beese nuclear plant in Ohio 18 months before the Three Mile Island accident.
'The findings of various independent studies conducted since the accident, including the NRC's own investigation of the accident (the 'Rogovin' special inquiry) support our main contention,' William Kuhns, GPU chairman, said. 'If the NRC had acted with due care in disclosing its findings concerning Davis-Besse and other warnings, the TMI accident would not have occured.'
The TMI accident occurred when a combination of operator error and mechanical malfunction caused a breakdown in the water cooling system that triggered a disintegration of the uranium fuel nuclear reactor core. Radioactivity was dispersed throughout the plant and into the atomosphere.
Joseph Benish, spokesman for GPU, said operators at Davis-Besse were able to prevent a major accident in part because the Ohio plant was operating a 2 percent of full power, compared to 90 percent at TMI Unit 2.
Following accepted procedure, the utility filed a complaint of alleged neglience and ommissions with the NRC on Dec. 8, 1980. The NRC rejected the complaint June 8, clearing the way for GPU's action in federal court.
The NRC said at the time it rejected GPU's claim that it was responsible for setting license standards and inspecting whether plants meet those standards.
'The commission does not, thereby, certify to the industry that the industry's designs and procedures are adequate to protect its equipment or operations,' the NRC said in its June report.
NRC spokeswoman Susan Gagner said the report made no specific reference to the Davis-Besse incident and the agency would study the lawsuit before commenting further.
The damages sought by GPU include recovery of the estimated $1 billion cost of cleanup at the damaged TMI Unit 2 and another $1.6 billion in replacement power costs for both units.
The utility also is seeking $430 million for the cost of restoration of TMI Unit 2, lost revenues of about $950 million and the increased costs of borrowing about $40 million.
