GE-Hitachi has settled a suit claiming that it provided false information to federal regulators while applying for design certification of its Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor.
An investigation arose from a whistleblower complaint from a former GEH employee. According to a release from the Department of Justice Thursday, the resulting suit alleged the company concealed flaws in its modeling of vibration from the reactor's steam dryer. GEH has denied the allegations and did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.
The ESBWR design review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is ongoing. The NRC and the Department of Energy took part in the investigation. The DOE had provided funding for up to half of the cost to develop and license the ESBWR between 2007 and 2012.