nuclear-news

Safety flaws in San Onofre nuclear power plant

“Here’s a tip:  when your nuclear reactor is springing leaks and radioactive pipes are deteriorating 20 times faster than they should, it’s a big deal, and no amount of nuclear spin by Edison or the NRC can hide that fact,”

Study Claims Flaws Caused Nuclear Leak Laguna Beach Independent, Rita Robinson | April 29, 2012   Changes at the San Onofre nuclear power plant that “crammed” 400 additional tubes into one generator required drilling that allegedly weakened the generator’s foundation, according to a study by the nuclear watchdog group Friends of the Earth.

The weakened foundation along with removing a support piece called the “stay cylinder,” designed to prevent vibration, caused the tubes to rub against other apparatus and resulted in radiation leaks, said the report, issued earlier this month.

Tube leaks indefinitely shut down both nuclear steam generators at the
plant nearly two months ago.

A day after a 3.9 earthquake was recorded a few miles west of San
Onofre, Irvine’s City Council voted Tuesday to send a letter
requesting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to close the nuclear
power plant unless both reactors are free of vibration, corrosion and
other degrading problems for the remaining 10 years of their current
license. Laguna Beach’s City Council recently joined San Clemente and
Irvine in formally voicing concern over the nuclear power plant’s
safety.

Irvine also called for the resolution of other safety issues, such as
permanent off-site storage of radioactive spent fuel, before
relicensing is considered.  At the council’s request, Edison officials
agreed to return May 8 with plans to prevent summer blackouts should
the reactors remain inoperable.

With fallout from Japan’s tsunami-bred nuclear disaster as a road map,
Irvine is also asking regulators to order the plant’s operator to
expand the evacuation zone to 50 miles from its present 10-mile radius
and provide emergency services accordingly. A 50-mile radius extends
into five California counties and three of the most populated, Orange,
Los Angeles and San Diego; Irvine is 22 miles west of San Onofre and
has a population of 220,000……”Here’s a tip:  when your nuclear
reactor is springing leaks and radioactive pipes are deteriorating 20
times faster than they should, it’s a big deal, and no amount of
nuclear spin by Edison or the NRC can hide that fact,” said Shaun
Bernie, a nuclear specialist to Friends of the Earth, a Washington,
D.C.-based environmental advocacy group.
http://www.lagunabeachindependent.com/2012/04/29/study-claims-flaws-caused-nuclear/

April 30, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA