FirstEnergy is nearly done painting the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant. But the paint job is not cosmetic.

FirstEnergy is applying the special sealant on the shield building outside the reactor to protect against future weather-related cracks.

FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young says that the initial cracks happened due to the blizzard of 1978.

"We had a lot of moisture penetrating the building, and then it froze, and these small, very tight cracks formed," Young tells AkronNewsNow.com. "So we're painting the building to eliminate the potential for it to get saturated by water in the future, and develop more cracks."

Young says that the Davis-Besse shield building isn't being coated with just regular paint.

"We did use a specialty paint for this, from Sherwin-Williams out of Cleveland," Young explains. "It's made to withstand weather, particularly the harsh weather we can see in winter in Northeast Ohio."

Thomarios, an Akron engineering firm, is doing the work.

The coating will be done by the end of this month.