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San Onofre nuclear reactor to restart without any repairs!

Edison rolls the nuclear dice, Friends of the Earth Oct. 5, 2012  by: Kendra Ulrich A dangerous gamble with the safety of Southern California If you have ever been to Las Vegas, you’ve seen it: People so caught up in the excitement of the casino that they just can’t resist the lure of the next bet or the thought that maybe thistime they’ll win.

Unfortunately, it seems that San Onofre nuclear operator, Southern California Edison, has the same weak spot for a high-stakes gamble. In a stunning announcement yesterday, the utility said that it plans to restart one of the crippled San Onofre nuclear reactors without any repairs. Edison argued that the Unit 2 nuclear reactor wasn’t quite as damaged as its twin, Unit 3, and so the bet was a bit safer. The utility promised it would slow down — by 30 percent for at least five months. Edison promised it would be extra careful while playing this dangerous game. Edison pledged that it would stop — for a little while at least — in five months to check in on how it is doing. But, the reality is that the move to restart Unit 2 amounts to turning Southern California into a giant game of craps, and if Edison loses this nuclear dice throw, it’s the 8.4 million people living within 50 miles of the San Onofre nuclear reactors who lose the most — everything: health, homes, businesses — an entire way of life.

You see, this isn’t the first time the management at Edison has bet the safety of Southern California communities on their ability to win — massive profits for themselves — with replacement equipment for these aging, dangerous nukes. In 2006, Edison gambled on being able to drastically alter the replacement steam generator design and side-step critical safety review by misrepresenting the changes to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission — the federal agency charged with ensuring the safety of U.S. nuclear reactors. They thought they could get away with cheating the regulations. And they did, for a short time anyway.

On January 31, 2012, a radioactive leak in the Unit 3 reactor exposed just how badly Edison had lost: further inspections revealed that its redesigned steam generators were showing unprecedented levels of accelerated damage. Thousands of tubes were worn so thin or deemed at risk of this unexpected wear that they had to be plugged. In fact, of their kind, the San Onofre steam generators are the most damaged and defective in the history of the U.S. nuclear industry.

Now Edison wants to roll the nuclear dice again, this time with equipment they know is dangerously flawed. This is an unacceptable gamble with the safety of Southern California. We cannot allow that to happen.

Ten years ago, the NRC staff looked the other way and approved the drastically altered defective equipment under an inappropriate rubber-stamp process. It must step up now and hold Edison accountable to guaranteeing that the equipment is vetted by truly independent experts testifying before an impartial judge — and that requires the full license amendment and public hearings that Edison should have been required to undergo 10 years ago.

Today, Friends of the Earth released a TV ad to inform Southern California of Edison’s dangerous gamble. We urge citizens to call NRC Chairwoman Allison MacFarlane and ask that she immediately intervene. Edison’s corporate profits should not be wagered against the lives and livelihoods of Southern Californians…….http://www.foe.org/news/blog/2012-10-edison-rolls-the-nuclear-dice-a-dangerous-gamble

October 5, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA