Federal Inspectors Probe Problems At California Nuclear Power Plant
March 15 2012 - 1:49PM
Dow Jones News
A special team of federal inspectors is investigating problems
that led to the shutdown of Edison International's (EIX) California
nuclear power plant, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said
Thursday.
One of two reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Power plant in San
Clemente, Calif., was unexpectly shut down Jan. 31 after critical
equipment malfunctioned.
A type of pipe called a steam tube sprung a leak and released
small amounts of radioactive steam. At the time, the NRC said the
amount of radiation that was released posed no harm to workers or
the public.
Nevertheless, reactor steam tubes must be strong enough to
withstand high pressure without rupturing to ensure radiation
doesn't escape the generators that use the steam to produce
electricity, according to the NRC.
The plant's other nuclear reactor had been shut down for a
scheduled procedure in which the fuel is replaced and equipment is
inspected. Both units, which are owned by Edison's southern
California utility and Sempra Energy's (SRE) San Diego utility,
remained offline.
The NRC said it was compelled to send the special inspection
team to the plant after the three tubes that leaked failed an
important pressure test on Wednesday, which suggested the tubes
would probably rupture again.
"We want to make sure we understand the cause of the degraded
steam generator tubes and take appropriate actions based on our
inspection results," Elmo Collins, the administrator of the NRC's
Region 4 office, said in a statement.
During the test on Wednesday, water was pumped inside the tube
while the pressure inside was increased.
The special team will include inspectors from Washington and
from the NRC's Region 4 office in Arlington, Texas, which oversees
nuclear power plants in western states.
-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468;
cassandra.sweet@dowjones.com
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