SHIPPINGPORT, Pa. -- FirstEnergy Corp. has fired a western Pennsylvania nuclear plant worker for failing to report a missed safety test of shock absorbing equipment designed to protect large steam pipes during earthquakes or other emergencies.
The Akron, Ohio-based utility isn't identifying the employee at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, whose actions were revealed in a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission violation filed this week.
The Beaver County Times reports Thursday the worker mistakenly left one snubber -- the term for the shock absorbers -- off a test during an inspection in March 2011 and didn't inform managers when he noticed the error the next month.
FirstEnergy found the oversight during a routine audit last year.
A FirstEnergy spokesman says the violation is considered "low level" because the company immediately corrected it.
Associated Press