BRIDGMAN, Mich., March 3, 1998 -- Nuclear Generation Group officials of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) said today the Nuclear Regulatory Commission now considers nine of the 10 Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) issues resolved. Work on the plants containment ice condenser systems is now the principal focus of their efforts to restart the two-unit Cook Nuclear Plant. The 10th CAL issue, a short-term assessment of whether other plant safety systems are affected by similar design problems, has not resulted in any operability issues. However, AEP continues to make programmatic assessments in this area, and will report to the NRC in the next few weeks. These announcements came at a Feb. 27 public meeting at the plant. The NRC also detailed the findings of agency inspections of the ice condenser system and fibrous material in containment. At that meeting, the NRC criticized AEP's maintenance and the general condition of the ice condensers. Agency representatives also said internal surveillance procedures must be improved, and that the utility bears primary responsibility for identifying and curing such problems. "We take ownership of these issues, and we acknowledge a serious responsibility not only to resolve them, but also to self-identify other potential problems and move effectively to prevent and resolve them as well," said Gene Fitzpatrick, executive vice president nuclear generation. "Our preliminary investigations and analysis have produced a well-defined work plan for the ice condenser, and that work is already in progress. Meanwhile, we are moving ahead to assure that the design and maintenance of other safety systems have been effectively performed." The purpose of an ice condenser is to absorb rapidly the thermal energy released to the containment in the event of a loss of coolant, accident or steam line break in order to reduce pressure in the containment building. The ice condensers also must provide water for long-term cooling. In each of the two units, there are more than 2.5 million pounds of ice held in 1,944 48-foot-long cylindrical baskets. The primary maintenance issues relating to the ice condensers are: basket ice weight, basket damage, and basket couplings. AEP took the units off-line Sept. 9, 1997, when plant personnel questioned whether plant systems used to cool the reactor and containment during a postulated accident would function on a long term basis. On Sept. 19, 1997, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Action Letter which detailed the issues raised during an August, 1997 NRC design inspection. A planned refueling of unit 2 was completed during the shutdown. AEP is meeting electrical needs of its customers through reserve capacity of other generating units. Cook Nuclear Plant constitutes 10 percent of AEPs total capacity. AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States' largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 2.9 million customers in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom and China. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, consulting and management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.