"FirstEnergy Corp said on Monday a small area of degradation found in the steel containment liner in one of the reactors at Pennsylvania's Beaver Valley nuclear power plant poses no harm to the public, workers or the environment."

"FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said workers found the flaw on Friday during an inspection of the inside walls of the containment building in the 892-megawatt Unit 1, which has been shut since September 30 for a refueling and maintenance outage.

The containment building is comprised of a 4.5-foot thick concrete wall with a domed top and a 3/8-inch thick steel liner.

The degraded area is located about 7 inches from the floor and measures about 0.4 inches by 0.28 inches, she said."

Scott DiSavino reports for Reuters October 8, 2013. [2]