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Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s sham review of San Onofre nuclear plant

Activists Say Feds Conducting Sham Nuke Review
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/nrc-damaged-calif-nuke-plant-face-long-review-17427917#.UHXEcS7A9dM    By MICHAEL R. BLOOD Associated Press LOS ANGELES October 9, 2012  Environmentalists accused federal regulators Tuesday of conducting a bogus review of a proposal to restart the damaged San Onofre nuclear power plant on the California coast.

Just days after Southern California Edison asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permission to repair and start the Unit 2 reactor, then run it at reduced power, the agency is facing pressure from groups critical of the nuclear power industry to initiate a
review that could take months or even years to complete.

The NRC is “denying the public any meaningful voice” in the review to restart the plant, which has been shuttered since January, Friends of the Earth, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Committee to Bridge the Gap said in a joint statement.

The NRC has promised a transparent, thorough review of the proposal,
which focuses on how the utility will fix faulty steam generators
installed during a $670 million overhaul.  “We don’t experiment with
safety,” NRC Regional Administrator Elmo Collins told reporters
Monday. The environmental groups are pushing the federal agency to
require Edison to seek an amendment to its operating license to
restart the plant, a process that could take up to two years. In a
March letter, federal regulators outlined a series of benchmarks
Edison must reach to restart the plant, including determining the
cause of vibration and friction that damaged scores of steam generator
tubes, how it would be fixed and then monitored during operation.

Those requirements, however, did not involve amending the plant’s
operating license.

“This significant change rises to the level of a license amendment
proceeding in which, by law, the public is entitled to participate,”
the groups said.Collins said Monday it’s an “open question” if the
agency will require a license amendment.

Anti-nuclear activists have argued for months that restarting the
plant, located between San Diego and Los Angeles, would invite
catastrophe. About 7.4 million Californians live within 50 miles of
San Onofre’s twin domes.

Tests found some tubes were so badly corroded that they could fail and
possibly release radiation, a stunning finding inside the nearly new
equipment.

Edison’s proposal calls for operating Unit 2 at up to 70 percent power
for five months then shutting it down for inspections.

The future of the heavily damaged Unit 3 reactor is not clear.

October 10, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA