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If
ever you had any illusions that things are still functioning, read
this!
Unit Three is the same unit that leaked radiation in January 2012. SONGS has been shutdown since then as a precaution.
"[Staff] identified a small leak in the water box and will perform maintenance per our scheduling process," SCE spokeswoman Maureen Brown wrote in a statement. "In the meantime, plastic is in place to direct the water from the small leak to a drain."
(Team 10 took the picture to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to see what federal regulators had to say about the quick fix. See the commission’s response today on 10News at 5 p.m.)
"If that's nuclear technology at work and that's how we're going to control leaks I think the public should know," the inside source said.
More than one anonymous source talked about the picture with Team 10. They said the public has a right to know about the plant's condition, as the NRC decides whether the plant will be allowed to restart.
Unit Two is the generator under consideration for restart - not Unit Three - where the picture was taken. Currently there are no plans to restart Unit Three.
Sources also pointed to what appears to be corrosion on the pipe as a sign of the power plant's age.
They claim rust is rampant throughout SONGS -- including what sources call a fire suppression pipe, which protects both units.
"There's a pipe that runs along the security fence, from one side of the plant to the other side of the plant -- it’s totally blistered," one inside source told Team 10.
"To take an isolated picture and leap to some kind of conclusion about maintenance is a pretty big leap," SCE’s Brown said in a phone conversation.
"We are dealing with unknown territory here which has never been explored before," another inside source said. Two inside sources called restarting SONGS “risky.”
SCE disputes those claims and told Team 10 the plant is safe to restart.
Records obtained by Team 10 show SONGS staff were concerned about "hundreds of corrosion notifications" and "degraded equipment" throughout the plant. Staff sent a letter to management saying SONGS "clearly has a serious corrosion problem" in pipes throughout the plant.
"This is nuclear, this should be tip top," one source said. "Everything in that plant should be tip top, not bottom of the barrel."
The NRC is expected to announce its decision on restarting Unit Two at 70 percent in May.
Team 10 sent these questions to SCE:
Where is this pipe?
What does it do?
Is the pipe in service currently?
Was it in service in December 2012?
Why is it sealed in this fashion?
Is this common practice at SONGS?
SCE responded with a statement and and a spokeswoman added, "we don't have comment beyond the statement."
SCE full statement:
The component in the photograph is a circulating water box in unit 3 which is defueled (not operating). This is part of the system that takes in ocean water which is circulated through condensers and then returned to the ocean. This water is not radioactive.
We identified a small leak in the water box and will perform maintenance per our scheduling process. In the meantime, plastic is in place to direct the water from the small leak to a drain. While this system is not needed while unit 3 is defueled, we do periodically circulate ocean water through the system and that's why we use the temporary plastic to route the water to a floor drain.
Plastic
bags, tape, broomsticks fix San Onofre leak
NRC
contemplating restart of nuclear plant
30
April, 2013
SAN
DIEGO - An inside source gave Team 10 a picture snapped inside the
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) showing plastic bags,
masking tape and broom sticks used to stem a massive leaky pipe.
San
Onofre owner Southern California Edison (SCE), confirms the picture
was taken inside Unit Three, but did not say when. The anonymous
source said the picture was taken in December 2012.
Unit Three is the same unit that leaked radiation in January 2012. SONGS has been shutdown since then as a precaution.
"[Staff] identified a small leak in the water box and will perform maintenance per our scheduling process," SCE spokeswoman Maureen Brown wrote in a statement. "In the meantime, plastic is in place to direct the water from the small leak to a drain."
(Team 10 took the picture to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to see what federal regulators had to say about the quick fix. See the commission’s response today on 10News at 5 p.m.)
"If that's nuclear technology at work and that's how we're going to control leaks I think the public should know," the inside source said.
More than one anonymous source talked about the picture with Team 10. They said the public has a right to know about the plant's condition, as the NRC decides whether the plant will be allowed to restart.
Unit Two is the generator under consideration for restart - not Unit Three - where the picture was taken. Currently there are no plans to restart Unit Three.
Sources also pointed to what appears to be corrosion on the pipe as a sign of the power plant's age.
They claim rust is rampant throughout SONGS -- including what sources call a fire suppression pipe, which protects both units.
"There's a pipe that runs along the security fence, from one side of the plant to the other side of the plant -- it’s totally blistered," one inside source told Team 10.
"To take an isolated picture and leap to some kind of conclusion about maintenance is a pretty big leap," SCE’s Brown said in a phone conversation.
"We are dealing with unknown territory here which has never been explored before," another inside source said. Two inside sources called restarting SONGS “risky.”
SCE disputes those claims and told Team 10 the plant is safe to restart.
Records obtained by Team 10 show SONGS staff were concerned about "hundreds of corrosion notifications" and "degraded equipment" throughout the plant. Staff sent a letter to management saying SONGS "clearly has a serious corrosion problem" in pipes throughout the plant.
"This is nuclear, this should be tip top," one source said. "Everything in that plant should be tip top, not bottom of the barrel."
The NRC is expected to announce its decision on restarting Unit Two at 70 percent in May.
Team 10 sent these questions to SCE:
Where is this pipe?
What does it do?
Is the pipe in service currently?
I
f it is not in service, why not?
f it is not in service, why not?
Was it in service in December 2012?
Why is it sealed in this fashion?
Is this common practice at SONGS?
SCE responded with a statement and and a spokeswoman added, "we don't have comment beyond the statement."
SCE full statement:
The component in the photograph is a circulating water box in unit 3 which is defueled (not operating). This is part of the system that takes in ocean water which is circulated through condensers and then returned to the ocean. This water is not radioactive.
We identified a small leak in the water box and will perform maintenance per our scheduling process. In the meantime, plastic is in place to direct the water from the small leak to a drain. While this system is not needed while unit 3 is defueled, we do periodically circulate ocean water through the system and that's why we use the temporary plastic to route the water to a floor drain.
....
Remember
Fort
Calhoun nuclear plant that was inundated by flooding of the
Missouri River in June, 2011. It has been out of the headlines for a
long time, but problems just don't go away because the media doesn't
cover the issue.
The
plant was due to be back on line in late May, but new problems have
arisen.
Muy
informant (a local) tells me the authorities whitewash
the fact that it has too many safety issues to be "ready"
to be "able" to turn back on. Thanks Ryan.
NRC
finds 2 new violations at Fort Calhoun nuclear plant
Federal
inspectors checking to see if Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station is ready
to restart have formally put the plant on notice about two new
violations.
29 April, 2013
The
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week said the plant did
not give a proper safety classification to a series of gates used to
help bring in water from the Missouri River to help cool the reactor.
In addition, plant operators did not notify the NRC about changes
they made to flood protection plans.
The
notice comes as the Omaha Public Power District plant, about 20 miles
north of Omaha, tries to prepare itself to start producing power for
the first time in nearly two years.
NRC
inspectors are making their way through a checklist of more than 450
items to ensure the plant is safe enough to return to normal
operations. So far, the NRC says it has signed off on about 100 of
those items.
Additional
findings from inspectors will be presented to the public at a meeting
within the next several weeks.
OPPD
spokesman Jeff Hanson said that the district is aware of the newly
identified issues and that it's unlikely they will push the restart
timeline back.
“We're
still looking at being able to restart before the peak summer
season,” he said.
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