Author Archives: CaptD

SCE Cited For Major Nuclear Related Safety Violation At San Onofre

Posted on by September 22, 2015
Get SCE Out of San Onofre

Background: NRC Spent Fuel Pool Cooling Requirements:


“Each licensee shall develop and implement guidance and strategies intended to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling capabilities under the circumstances associated with loss of large areas of the plant due to explosions or fire ….”
The San Onofre spent fuel cooling fire protection plan in the event of a large fire and/or explosion hinges on the expertise and staffing of the on-sight San Onofre Fire Department.
Since the San Onofre Fire Department and Emergency Planning Personnel Staffing was reduced to a skeleton crew without prior approval from the NRC after a full and proper evaluation, the existing fire plan is now outdated and unrealistic in event of a large fire or explosion.
A Spent Fuel Pool Cooling Accident, in case of a large fire or explosion without adequate and demonstrated mitigation measures is a MAJOR Nuclear Safety Concern for all the millions of Southern Californians living within the 10 Mile Emergency Protection Zone.  Remember Fukushima‘s triple meltdowns occurred because of a failure to keep their reactors cool after the big earth quake and tsunami which occurred on 03/11/11.

Last Friday, the NRC cited SCE, the operator of San Onofre’s nuclear power plant for violating NRC rules by failing to get approval before eliminating 39 emergency-response jobs after the plant closed last year.
Historically, NRC Region IV has had the habit of citing Southern California Edison with only low level violations, even if the violations were actually severe violations.  This cozy relationship was a contributing factor in the radioactive leak that resulted in the early decommissioning of San Onofre Units 2 & 3 and the loss of billions of dollars to SoCal ratepayers that could have been prevented, if the NRC had enforced the Federal Regulations as written.  This type of safety enforcement is not good for Californians or the NRC.  Now a serious review/investigation and proper action/fines are required by the NRC and its Commissioners, to assure Nuclear Safety is maintained at San Onofre and all the other US Nuclear Power Plants.
The question the NRC should ask is, “Knowing that the SPENT FUEL POOLS MUST STILL BE KEPT COOL 24/7 no matter what, if a major earth quake occurred tonight, would San Onofre Fire Dept.’s skeleton crew be able to guarantee US that they could prevent a nuclear accident from occurring, especially since the 39 emergency-response positions that were illegally eliminated, probably cost ratepayers much less than even one still employed highly paid nuclear manager who would be home sleeping?  
The question that the CPUC should ask is, “If SEC is really interested in safety as they keep telling us, what is the reasonableness of continually cutting corners on those that actually insure our safety, while at the same time retaining other highly paid nuclear Staff?
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Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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San Onofre Cancer Report by Joe Mangano Published

Posted on by September 16, 2013

San Onofre Cancer Report by Joe Mangano Published
Joe Mangano The Radiation and Public Health Project  
P.O. Box 1260 Ocean City NJ 08226 
Click here for the RADIOACTIVE EMISSIONS AND HEALTH HAZARDS FROM THE SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR REACTORS IN CALIFORNIA PDF 

Everyone and especially those with small children should consider making a donation to Joe Mangano’s* The Radiation and Public Health Project for publishing his San Onofre Cancer Report at no cost, as a public service.


Note: This study comes long before similar studies being done by the NRC which will take years to complete, yet the nuclear industry group already claims that they “won’t provide any meaningful data” (see below).

After reading Joe Mangano’s study, you can decide for yourself.
* Joseph J. Mangano, MPH, MBA, is Director, Secretary, and the Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project.
Mr. Mangano is a public health administrator and researcher who has studied the connection between low-dose radiation exposure and subsequent risk of diseases such as cancer and damage to newborns.
He has published numerous articles and letters in medical and other journals in addition to books, including Low Level Radiation and Immune System Disorders: An Atomic Era Legacy. There he examines the connection between radiation exposure and current widespread health problems.


For comparison:

CANCER RISKS STUDIED NEAR 7 US NUCLEAR SITES

— Oct. 24 2:03 PM EDT

You are here

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Federal regulators say a pilot study of cancer risks posed to residents near seven nuclear power sites in the United States will update 22-year-old data, but an industry group says the study won’t come up with anything new.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will study cancer types in infants and the general population near six nuclear power plants and a nuclear-fuel plant for the Navy. The $2 million study is expected to begin in the next three months and continue at least into 2014.

The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group, opposes the study, saying it won’t likely provide any meaningful data.

The sites are in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee.

Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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Germany’s Clean Energy Push: What Can the World Learn

Posted on by July 8, 2013

Can Germany Lead California To Energy Freedom?

Germany’s Clean Energy Push: What Can the World Learn

Register Now
Live, Free Webinar*

Tue, Jul 9, 2013 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT

Known as the Energiewende, or “energy transition“, Germany’s campaign to move to renewable power is ambitious, massively popular at home, and by many accounts, quite successful. With 25% of Germany’s electricity currently being sourced from solar, wind, and biomass generation and a target of 80% renewable by 2050 in place, the German energy economy is worth watching.

What can the rest of Europe, the U.S., and other nations learn from one wealthy nation’s aggressive clean energy push? Will Germany succeed in meeting its goals? Which are its biggest obstacles? And perhaps most importantly, can other nations replicate Germany’s most positive achievements? Join us as we ask:

– What distinguishes Germany in terms of economics or political will that has made energiewende possible? Which nations have similar qualities?
– What has been Germany’s most successful strategy in cleaning up its energy mix?
– Is the decision to eliminate nuclear power after the Fukushima event consistent with Germany’s goals?
– What could prevent other nations from adopting similar strategies?

Featuring:

– Rainer Baake:
Director of Agora-Energiewende, former Deputy Minister of the German Federal Environmental Ministry

– Dr. Sören Buttkereit:
Vice President of regulatory strategies for Siemens Energy, focused on market design in the power sector and the adaptations required for a successful transition towards systems with a higher share of (intermittent) renewables.

– Stephanie Wang
Regulatory Policy Director for the Clean Coalition, a nonprofit working to encourage a modern energy system of smaller-scale, efficient, renewable energy projects.

– Jesse Jenkins, Moderator:
MIT Energy Initiative Energy Fellow and Community Manager at The Energy Collective, former Director of Energy and Climate Policy at the Breakthrough Instituteenergiewende possible? Which nations have similar qualities?

What has been Germany’s most successful strategy in cleaning up its energy mix?

Is the decision to eliminate nuclear power after the Fukushima event consistent with Germany’s goals?

What could prevent other nations from adopting similar strategies?

  * https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1354509616397857280?source=tec_blast1&inf_contact_key=bb8ec0d2ea0a237eb8db11a840ff3a5b2b1aa31b33e32499f4be8f4cc0c4aaa2

Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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The $742 Million Question:

Posted on by June 22, 2013
The $742 Million Question

Who should pay for the extra Decommissioning money, not yet collected?

Since the operators of San Onofre made the financial decision to shut it down prematurely, all decommissioning fees not already collected for Units 2 and 3 by 01/31/12, should be paid by the operators of San Onofre, not ratepayers!

Also the California Public Utilities Commission should required SCE put the Decommissioning of San Onofre out for public bid, instead of just giving the mega billion dollar job to SCE. California ratepayers cannot afford a sole source bid when so many International Companies with nuclear expertise are looking for work.

A public bidding process will save California ratepayers huge amounts of money, money which should not end up in SCE’s shareholders pockets. This single project has the potential to jump start our economy, we cannot allow the CPUC to short circuit our states bidding process by not putting this job out for bid!

   Decommissioning Costs as of 1/1/2012
SONGS 1     $ Million
SONGS 2 $ Million
SONGS 3 $ Million
  Radiological Costs
183.3
1,273.6
1,262.4
            Site Restoration
10.7
417.0
535.5
  Fuel Storage (Including ISFSI Decommissioning)
11.2
385.3
368.3
  Estimated Total Budget 2009 (See Note 2)
N/A
1,791
1,868
      Total Collected 10/31/12  (See Note 1)
291.4
1,638.1
1,865.4
    Total Projection 1/1/2012
205.2
2,079.5
2,166.2
Estimated Loss Due To Poor RSG Design/Operation
           86.2   Previously   Overbilled
        441.4           Shortfall
        300.8              Shortfall


  1. SCE  Letter to NRC (2012) https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0BweZ3c0aFXcFZGpvRlo4aXJCT2s/edit?docId=0BweZ3c0aFXcFNHF2ZDVncy1GM0U
  2. SCE Testimony to CPUC (2009) https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0BweZ3c0aFXcFZGpvRlo4aXJCT2s/edit?docId=0BweZ3c0aFXcFYlhqWHVQbEYyVkU

Background

The purpose of the Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Funds is to mitigate for ratepayers the high cost of decommissioning nuclear power plants at the end of their lives by collecting reasonable fees over a long period of time. The CPUC directs the investor owned utilities to collect a regular Decommissioning fee on customers’ monthly electric bills for Edison and SDG&E’s San Onofre Plant (30 years old) and PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Plant (28 years old). The expected life of a nuclear power plant is 40 years.

$5.2 billion of ratepayer collection is currently invested with the Trust Funds.

At current liquidation value, combined Decommissioning Trust Funds are ~90% funded. The Trust Funds are currently invested in equities (60%) and investment grade fixed income securities (40%). D.87-05-062 established nuclear decommissioning trusts for funding future decommissioning of the utilities’ nuclear units. Each nuclear plant has decommissioning trusts and a committee that oversees the trust fund; Under Public Utilities Code § 8326, SCE is required to provide a decommissioning cost estimate that includes, among other things,

an estimate of the costs of decommissioning, and

a description of changes in regulation, technology, and economics affecting the estimate of costs.

As SCE explains, and as TURN’s witness Lacy acknowledges, the costs to decommission a nuclear facility include the costs to

store the spent fuel onsite or offsite until it is removed by the DOE;

remove residual radioactivity from the site, including from the spent fuel storage facility, to levels required to terminate the NRC license and to release the site for unrestricted use; and

remove non-radiological structures, systems, and components as required to leave the site in a safe condition, or as otherwise mandated by the state or the site owner.

The Utilities project that they will perform the actual decommissioning in three phases.

During Phase I, the Utilities will decontaminate, dismantle, and dispose of the units and the site common facilities. The Utilities will also continue to maintain the integrity and safety of the spent fuel while it remains on the SONGS site. The Utilities will maintain spent fuel in wet storage in spent fuel pools until it can be safely transferred to the SONGS 2 & 3 Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) or removed from the site by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). To safely store fuel in wet storage, the Utilities must maintain each plant system required for spent fuel pool operation until the fuel is removed. The Utilities will drain, de-energize, and secure all other plant systems. After the SONGS 2 & 3 spent fuel pools are empty, the Utilities will decommission the pools and their associated support structures and systems. The Utilities assume that by the time the SONGS 2 & 3 fuel has cooled sufficiently to be removed from the spent fuel pools, the DOE will have removed enough SONGS 2 & 3 fuel from the SONGS site that it will not be necessary to further expand the ISFSI pads or to construct additional Advanced Horizontal Storage Modules (ASHM) to accommodate that fuel.

During Phase II, the Utilities will monitor the ISFSI until the DOE removes the last spent fuel from the site, which is assumed to occur by 2051 based on studies developed from the DOE Acceptance Priority Ranking & Annual Capacity Report (DOE/RW-0567), dated July 2004.

During Phase III, the Utilities will dismantle and dispose of the ISFSI, all remaining site common facilities, and the remaining structural foundations; terminate the NRC licenses; and complete the final site restoration work.

Note: The Utilities do not own the site upon which the SONGS facility is located. Instead, they are authorized to use the site under several lease contracts and grants of easement from the U.S. Department of the Navy and the California State Lands Commission. To terminate these agreements, the Utilities are required to remove all improvements they installed or constructed on the site, except as agreed by the lessors/grantors, return the site to a condition satisfactory to the grantor, and return the site to the lessors/grantors.

Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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Why fatigue damage will stop the NRC from allowing Unit 2 to restart

Posted on by April 8, 2013




FATIGUE DAMAGE TO SONGS STEAM GENERATORS

J. Hopenfeld 

Provided to the “DAB Safety Team” as additional explanation of the fatigue damage to SONGS steam generators which was discussed in a report by the author and was submitted to the California Public Utility Commission on March 29, 2013


Note: Links to these documents are listed below 
SCE/MHI made a mistake in their stress analysis, which directly impacts the safety of restarting Unit 2.  When the error is corrected, the result clearly shows that Unit 2 has already used up its allowed fatigue life and is not fit for service any longer.  This means that if Unit 2 is restarted at any power level an abrupt pressure change such as inadvertent closing or opening of a valve or a steam line break could lead to a sudden tube ruptures.   The ASME code and NRC regulations do not permit safety components to operate when their fatigue life has been exhausted.

The source of MHI’s error resulted from how they calculated the increase in the local stress at geometrical discontinuities  (notches), which are formed when two metal surfaces come in contact during vibration.  Since the worn surfaces of the tubes inside the steam generators cannot be seen, MHI made two key assumptions, which are inconsistent with the observation that both the tube and the supporting bar are worn into each other.  First, MHI assumed that the ASME endurance limit could be applied directly to the notched tube surfaces.  Since it is commonly known that surface roughness significantly reduces fatigue life and since the ASME data is for smooth polished surfaces, this assumption would underestimate the amount of fatigue damage.  Second, when using the Peterson chart, MHI assumed unrealistically large fillet radius and consequently derived a low concentration stress factor.  Large radii would decrease the local stress and cause the tube to fail at a higher stress thereby increasing its fatigue life.  Only by using these two, arbitrary non-conservative, assumptions was MHI able to conclude that Unit 2 did not suffer any fatigue damage.

As depicted in the MHI drawings the support bar and the tube form a sharp discontinuity at the contacting surface, therefore the appropriate geometry for calculating the stress concentration is an abrupt geometry change (very small radii), not a large radius shoulder fillet that was assumed by MHI.  When a correction is made to account for the sharp notch, the corrected stress indicates  (see Figure 1 below) that the tubes have used up their fatigue life during the first cycle of operation.  Structures with sharp notches can fail catastrophically when subjected to high cycle vibrations.  (MHI redacted their assumption so the exact value of the radius they used is unknown.)

 The loss of fatigue life is a major defect in the tube material; NRC regulations 10CFR50, Appendix B, Criterion 16 specify that for a licensee to maintain his operating license, such non-conformance must be promptly identified and corrected.   The licensee must assure that “corrective action (is) taken to preclude repetition.  NRC’s General Design Criteria 4 and 10CFR50 Appendix A also specify that steam generator tubes must be able to “ accommodate the effects of loss of coolant accidents “ The fact that the NRC has not already raised these issues in any of their  “Requests for Additional Information, RAIs” indicates that the NRC would be ignoring its own regulations if it allows SCE to restart Unit 2.

 In Summary: The SCE request for approval to operate Unit 2 at 70 % power for 150 days provided no explanation for the selection of this inspection interval.  The absence of such explanation and the absence of an indication of the actions that would follow demonstrate the unreliability of SCE entire assessment of restarting Unit 2.  Edison did not specify pass/fail criteria for the tubes during the outage inspection.  Given the fact that fatigue damage does not lend itself to detection, SCE request is unacceptable and should be rejected. 

  

Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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NRC: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Posted on by April 3, 2013

NRC: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

… and why it is unsafe To restart San Onofre



A GOOD NRC enforcement example:


Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant in Oak Harbor, Ohio. On March 5, 2002, maintenance workers discovered that corrosion had eaten a football-sized hole into the reactor vessel head of the Davis-Besse plant. Corrosion had been clogging the plant’s filters for months, requiring repeated filter replacement, but the cause was not investigated until after a worker leaned against a control rod drive mechanism, and it toppled over. Although the corrosion did not lead to an accident, this was considered to be a serious nuclear safety incident. Some observers have criticized the NRC’s Commission work as an example of regulatory capture [See Note 1] and the NRC has been accused of doing an inadequate job by the Union of Concerned Scientists.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission kept Davis-Besse shut down until March 2004, so that FirstEnergy was able to perform all the necessary maintenance for safe operations. The NRC imposed its largest fine ever—more than $5 million—against FirstEnergy for the actions that led to the corrosion. The company paid an additional $28 million in fines under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The NRC closely monitored FENOC’s response and concluded in September 2009 that FENOC met the conditions of the 2004 order. From 2004 through 2009 the NRC reviewed 20 independent assessments conducted at the plant and verified the independent assessors’ credentials. The agency also conducted its own inspections and reviewed FENOC’s reactor vessel inspections conducted in early 2005. NRC inspectors paid particular attention to the order’s focus on safety culture and safety conscious work environment to ensure there were no new signs of weakness. The NRC task force concluded that the corrosion, occurred for several reasons:


·    NRC, Davis-Besse and the nuclear industry failed to adequately review, assess, and follow up on relevant operating experience at other nuclear power plants;
·    Davis-Besse failed to ensure that plant safety issues received appropriate attention; and
·    NRC failed to integrate available information in assessing Davis-Besse’s safety performance.



A BAD NRC enforcement example:

At San Onofre by Region IV and the NRC: The papers shown below have been obtained from Public Domain written by Dr. Joram Hopenfeld and a former SONGS Employee based on his investigation of the steam generator issues, review of the plant data and discussions with several Key SONGS Insiders. These papers confirm that Southern California Edison wants to restart unsafe Unit 2 nuclear reactor at 70% power under false pretenses, just for profits, and as an unapproved risky experiment by subverting the NRC and Federal regulatory process.  The true Root Cause (See Note 2) of the unprecedented tube-to-tube wear in Unit 3 has NOT been officially established, as required by NRC Confirmatory Letter Action 1 for restarting the defectively designed and degraded Unit 2.  NRC has not even completed their review of Unit 2 Return to Service Reports, nor have they finished Special Unit 2 Tube Inspections, nor have they (publicly?) reviewed SCE’s Response to NRC’s Requests for Additional Information (RAIs).
NOTE: NO FINES ARE MENTIONED – WHY?



An UGLY NRC enforcement example?:

Now, SCE wants the NRC to approve a new shady License Amendment, undermining public safety and they want it done without the involvement of Public Safety Experts, Attorneys and/or Citizens/Ratepayers.  After the review of the Mitsubishi Root Cause Evaluation and the Draft SCE License Amendment, it is crystal clear that the NRC needs to follow the example of their own enforcement at David Besse together with the lessons learned from Fukushima, when it comes to NOT approving this new Shady License Amendment for restarting San Onofre Unit 2’s defectively designed and degraded replacement steam generators.  In light of the unanticipated/unprecedented tube leakage at San Onofre Unit 3, the health and safety, along with the economic concerns/objections of 8.4 million Southern Californians’ MUST OVERRIDE and PREVENT the restarting of Unit 2 at ANY power level.  In a Democratic Society, truth must prevail over profit motivations, misleading propaganda of electricity service disruption and/or projected probabilistic temporary inconveniences to the public based on phony data, because America cannot afford a trillion dollar nuclear eco-disaster!


Our Safety must override SCE’s profits and prevent them from restarting Unit 2.
Notes:

1: Regulatory capture occurs when a regulatory agency, created to act in the public interest, instead advances the commercial or special concerns of interest groups that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating.  Regulatory capture is a form of government failure, as it can act as an encouragement for firms to produce negative externalities. The agencies are called “captured agencies”.

2. Human performance errors resulting from the negative safety culture of production (profits) goals overriding public safety obligations.




=======================================================================
Additional Information:


The full DAB Safety Team’s Media Alert 5 Parts:

https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0BweZ3c0aFXcFZGpvRlo4aXJCT2s/edit?pli=1&docId=15V8BD4YK0MjwUV6gPZt6ILS_lP7CpClzgnZentLfx8U

The complete five (5) part presentation, see the eight (8) titles listed below:

Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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San Onofre Unit 2 Retainer Bars Could Cause Massive ? Leakage

Posted on by March 14, 2013


In an accident like a main steam line break at San Onofre, the badly designed retainers bars in Unit 2 could actually make things much worse by causing more damage to any of the 9,727 already fatigued tubes in each of its steam generators which could lead to additional leakage of highly radioactive reactor core coolant and/or cause a nuclear incident or worse a nuclear accident like Fukushima!


Radioactive Leaks and ruptures can happen without notice:



Allegation/Violations

The NRC has decided in AIT follow-up report dated 11/09/2012, “Item 3. “(Closed) Unresolved Item 05000362/2012007-03, ‘Evaluation of Retainer Bars Vibration during the Original Design of the Replacement Steam Generators” as a non-cited violation in accordance with Section 2.3.2 of the NRC’s Enforcement Policy.”  However, as shown below, SCE/MHI’s failure to verify the adequacy of the retainer bar design as required by SCE/MHI’s procedures have resulted in plugging of several hundred tubes in the brand new replacement generators. This has resulted in these violations:

1. Failure to meet NRC Chairman Standards on Nuclear Safety by SCE,
2. Failure to meet Senator Boxer’s Committee on Environment and Public Works
(EPW) Standards on Nuclear Safety by SCE,
3. Failure to enforce SCE Edison Contract Document instructions to MHI by SCE,
4. Failure to meet SONGS Technical Specifications by SCE,
5. Failure to meet general design criteria (GDC) in Appendix A, “General Design
Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants,” to 10 CFR Part 50, “Domestic
Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities GDC 14, “Reactor
Coolant Pressure Boundary” by SCE/MHI,
6. Failure to demonstrate that Unit 2 retainer bars will maintain tube bundle
geometry at 70% power due to fluid elastic instability during a main line
steam break (MSLB) design basis event, and
7. SCE/MHI took shortcuts by avoiding the 10 CFR 50.90 License Amendment
Process under the false pretense of “like for a like” replacement steam
generator.  SCE added 377 more tubes, increased the average length of the
heated tubes and changed the thermal-hydraulic operation of the RSGs without

proper safety analysis and inadequate 10CFR 50.59 Evaluation.

This intentional action to produce more thermal megawatts out of the

RSGs compromised safety at SONGS Unit 2 due to the failure of 90

percent through wall thickness of a tube by the inadequate design of the

r

etainer bar.

Recommended Actions:

NRC San Onofre Special Panel is requested to resolve the above listed Allegations and/or Violations within 30 days of receipt of this email and prior to granting SCE’s permission to do any restart “testing” of Unit 2. Answer all allegations factually, don’t just void them.
 
See Full Document: Media Alert: San Onofre Retainer Bar Problems

Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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San Diego screening of MOVIE: “311: Surviving Japan”

Posted on by March 11, 2013

WE HAVE THIS weekend to pre-sell just 6 seats to make this screening happen in San Diego! No excuses on the weekend, just DO it: You will NOT be charged until the event is confirmed. ($12 per ticket)http://www.tugg.com/titles/311-surviving-japan?lo…

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San Onofre Legacy (SOL Part 1, 2 and 3)

Posted on by February 12, 2013

The DAB Safety Team released three Media Alerts today!


Together they describe (in technical detail) the current situation at San Onofre, along with what SCE, their experts and other public nuclear watchdogs are now saying about all the NRC RESTART QUESTIONS they have been told to answer:


snip:
The following paper shows that the entire NRC Regulatory Process is underfunded, broken and needs additional funding, oversight and extensive overhaul to ensure public safety.
snip:
The presentation by SCE, Mitsubishi and other experts to the NRC was very disappointing and disturbing to 8.4 million Southern Californians.  The presentation did not address U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Congressman Edward J. Markey’s concerns expressed on February 6, 2013 in her letter to NRC Chairman McFarlane, “Southern California Edison was aware of problems with replacement steam generators at its San Onofre nuclear power plant but chose not to make fixes.
snip:
The structural integrity of SONGS degraded retainer bar system to withstand combined loads that result from postulated accident conditions events has not been demonstrated.
Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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Unsafe NRC Computer Model Requires Investigation

Posted on by January 22, 2013

Snip from:

Press Release 13-01-22 ATHOS Validity Questioned, Qualifying Investigation Required

The validity of the ATHOS T/H computer model for San Onofre Unit 2 at Main Steam Line Break  conditions requires that the NRC Office of Nuclear …

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Unsafe NRC Computer Model Requires Investigation

Posted on by January 22, 2013

Snip from:

Press Release 13-01-22 ATHOS Validity Questioned, Qualifying Investigation Required

The validity of the ATHOS T/H computer model for San Onofre Unit 2 at Main Steam Line Break  conditions requires that the NRC Office of Nuclear …

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NRC Violating Presidential Directive and the Public Trust

Posted on by January 17, 2013

SCE’s PR Machine Is Capable Of Overcoming ALL Hurdles,

Except Good Science And Safety

Albert Einstein also described INSANITY as

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

The DAB Safe…

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NRC Violating Presidential Directive and the Public Trust

Posted on by January 17, 2013

SCE’s PR Machine Is Capable Of Overcoming ALL Hurdles,

Except Good Science And Safety

Albert Einstein also described INSANITY as

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

The DAB Safe…

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SCE Violated Federal Reg.’s And the Public Trust

Posted on by January 15, 2013

Nuclear Experts Agree, San Onofre’s Replacement Steam Generators Are Unsafe

Summation: Based upon our ongoing review of evaluations, engineering analyses, inspections, technical and operational assessment reports prepared by the NRC’s Augment…

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SCE Violated Federal Reg.’s And the Public Trust

Posted on by January 15, 2013

Nuclear Experts Agree, San Onofre’s Replacement Steam Generators Are Unsafe

Summation: Based upon our ongoing review of evaluations, engineering analyses, inspections, technical and operational assessment reports prepared by the NRC’s Augment…

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TEN Unresolved Items, Requires NRR Investigate The NRC

Posted on by January 11, 2013

The Unsatisfactory Status Of The NRC Region IV Augmented Inspection Team
Report Which Contains TEN Unresolved
Items, Requires Additional NRR Investigation
And Resolution.

The DAB Safety Team has transmitted the following to
the Chair…

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TEN Unresolved Items, Requires NRR Investigate The NRC

Posted on by January 11, 2013

The Unsatisfactory Status Of The NRC Region IV Augmented Inspection Team
Report Which Contains TEN Unresolved
Items, Requires Additional NRR Investigation
And Resolution.

The DAB Safety Team has transmitted the following to
the Chair…

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NRC AIT Review Of San Onofre Requires An NRR Investigation

Posted on by January 7, 2013

NRC AIT review of SCE 10CFR 50.59: The NRC AIT stated in its report, “Based on the updated final safety analysis report description of the original steam generators, the team determined that the steam generators major design changes were r…

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NRC AIT Review Of San Onofre Requires An NRR Investigation

Posted on by January 7, 2013

NRC AIT review of SCE 10CFR 50.59: The NRC AIT stated in its report, “Based on the updated final safety analysis report description of the original steam generators, the team determined that the steam generators major design changes were r…

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San Onofre’s TTW Assessment Is NOT ACCEPTABLE

Posted on by January 4, 2013

SCE Cannot Develop A New Tube-To-Tube (TTW) Operational Assessment ACCEPTABLE To The NRR, After Wasting Hundreds of Millions of Dollars

NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation asked in a letter dated December 26, 2012 to Edison the following questi…

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NRC Region IV AIT Team Report Requires Immediate NRR Investigation

Posted on by January 2, 2013

Press Release + 13-01-02 Supplemental
To Our Press Release + 12-12-31

Condensed Version

NRC AIT Team review of SCE 10CFR
50.59: The NRC AIT Team stated in its report, “Based on the
updated final safety analysis report description of the origi…

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NRC Region IV AIT Team Report Requires Immediate NRR Investigation

Posted on by January 2, 2013

Press Release + 13-01-02 Supplemental
To Our Press Release + 12-12-31

Condensed Version

NRC AIT Team review of SCE 10CFR
50.59: The NRC AIT Team stated in its report, “Based on the
updated final safety analysis report description of the origi…

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SCE’s News Years Resolution 2013: Decommission SONGS ASAP

Posted on by December 31, 2012

NRR RAI Answers Will Prevent Any SCE Restart At San Onofre

The NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has requested from Edison in a
letter dated December 26, 2012, the following additional information (RAI
#32): “Please …

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SCE’s News Years Resolution 2013: Decommission SONGS ASAP

Posted on by December 31, 2012

NRR RAI Answers Will Prevent Any SCE Restart At San Onofre

The NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has requested from Edison in a
letter dated December 26, 2012, the following additional information (RAI
#32): “Please …

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Thirty Alarms Demonstrates SONGS Is Unsafe

Posted on by December 28, 2012

The 30 Un-Resolved Alarms Recorded by SONGS Vibration Monitoring System During 11 Months of Operation, Requires An Immediate NRR Safety Investigation

Three Questions affecting US reactor safety need to be answered ASAP, by the NRR:…

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Thirty Alarms Demonstrates SONGS Is Unsafe

Posted on by December 28, 2012

The 30 Un-Resolved Alarms Recorded by SONGS Vibration Monitoring System During 11 Months of Operation, Requires An Immediate NRR Safety Investigation

Three Questions affecting US reactor safety need to be answered ASAP, by the NRR:…

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NRR Meeting Request About SONGS Restart Safety

Posted on by December 26, 2012

The DAB Safety Team and Other Experts wish to be invited to a Confidential NRR Meeting about SONGS’ severely damaged Replacement Steam
Generators and other safety related problems, before any SONGS Unit 2 restart
is granted by the NRC.

…

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NRR Meeting Request About SONGS Restart Safety

Posted on by December 26, 2012

The DAB Safety Team and Other Experts wish to be invited to a Confidential NRR Meeting about SONGS’ severely damaged Replacement Steam
Generators and other safety related problems, before any SONGS Unit 2 restart
is granted by the NRC.

…

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14 Reactor Safety Questions That Edison Needs To Answer Regarding San Onofre

Posted on by December 17, 2012

The 14 most important questions that the DAB Safety Team feels must be answered before the NRC, Atomic Safety Licensing Board, NRC Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulations and Nuclear Regulatory Research can complete their investigation …

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14 Reactor Safety Questions That Edison Needs To Answer Regarding San Onofre

Posted on by December 17, 2012

The 14 most important questions that the DAB Safety Team feels must be answered before the NRC, Atomic Safety Licensing Board, NRC Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulations and Nuclear Regulatory Research can complete their investigation …

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Edison Pushes Restart, Despite UNSAFE Assessment

Posted on by December 14, 2012

NRC No Restart at San Onofre

Steam
generator tubes and their support structures need to be extremely carefully
designed and manufactured within the allowed design tolerances.  These tubes preform a very important safety
function b…

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Edison Pushes Restart, Despite UNSAFE Assessment

Posted on by December 14, 2012

NRC No Restart at San Onofre

Steam
generator tubes and their support structures need to be extremely carefully
designed and manufactured within the allowed design tolerances.  These tubes preform a very important safety
function b…

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Plug All Of San Onofre’s Unsafe Tubes, Not Just Some

Posted on by November 22, 2012

The DAB Safety Team Agrees With Newly Released MHI Data:

Plug All Of SONGS Unsafe Tubes, Not Just Some

The DAB
Safety Team along with the support of an ever-growing number of SONGS
Concerned Insiders and Whistleblowers, prepared t…

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San Onofre’s Unsafe Inspections Put SoCal At Risk

Posted on by November 9, 2012

San Onofre Unit 2 Replacement Steam Generators Incomplete and Inadequate Tube Inspections

San Diego, CA (November 9, 2012) – The failure of eight Replacement Steam Generator (RSG) tubes (something which has never
happened before…

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San Onofre ALMOST Caused A Nuclear Disaster

Posted on by November 3, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

DAB Safety Team   November 02, 2012

Media Contact: Don Leichtling
(619) 260-0160 or Ace Hoffman (760) 720-7261

FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE 

Fluid Elastic Instability
(FEI) is a phenomenon that can…

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San Onofre ALMOST Caused A Nuclear Disaster

Posted on by November 3, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

DAB Safety Team   November 02, 2012

Media Contact: Don Leichtling
(619) 260-0160 or Ace Hoffman (760) 720-7261

FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE 

Fluid Elastic Instability
(FEI) is a phenomenon that can…

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10-18-12 SCE’s RSG Testing Update + New NRC Blog Topic

Posted on by October 19, 2012

The NRC has just posted this new topic on their blog site:

In Response to Your Letters: Proposed Restart of SONGS Unit 2

by Allison Macfarlane

NRC Chairman

http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/

You are encouraged to add you…

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CPUC – DRAFT ORDER INSTITUTING INVESTIGATION REGARDING SONGS UNITS 2 AND 3

Posted on by October 17, 2012

The San Francisco-based California Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday published a draft investigation order regarding the idled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

 It will take up the matter at a public meeting Oct. 25 in Irvine.&nb…

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FOE –> San Onofre – Feds Stonewall FOE’s Petition For Legal Hearing On Reactor Restart

Posted on by October 16, 2012

Posted Oct. 16, 2012,           Salute to FOE!

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission’s continued refusal to consider a legally binding hearing on the
future of the San Onofre nuclear plant h…

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Update 10-14-12, SCE’s Replacement Steam Generator $680 Million Debacle

Posted on by October 14, 2012

The DAB
Safety Team’s – Update 10-14-12,  SCE’s Replacement
Steam Generator $680 Million Debacle

1.   If SCE’s and MHI’s Engineers had used all the following
guidelines, they would have p…

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SCE’s Restart PR Campaign Backfires in MV!

Posted on by October 6, 2012

SCE’s RESTART PR campaign is now in full swing, please tell your friends to find out what SanO insiders are saying about all the technical issues AGAINST RESTARTING SanO, before they attend the NRC Dana Pt. meeting on 10-09-12.

The complet…

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California ISO prepares for another potential summer without San Onofre generation

Posted on by October 1, 2012

News Release

News Release

For immediate release | September 13, 2012 Media Hotline ? 888.516.6397

For more information, contact:

Steven Greenlee | sgreenlee@caiso.com Stephanie McCorkle | smccorkle@caiso.com

California ISO prepares for another …

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The Number 1 US Nuclear Safety Concern ==> San Onofre’s Replacement Steam Generators

Posted on by September 27, 2012

The DAB Safety Team is thankful to numerous
anonymous concerned SONGS Workers, who have provided factual information in the
interest of the Public Safety to us so that we could arrive at these “Reasonable
Conclusions?…

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San Onofre Nuke Questions That Need To Be Answered By The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Prior To The Upcoming Oct. 9, 2012 Meeting

Posted on by September 18, 2012

Here are some questions for the Public and MSM Reporters to ask the NRC prior to the Public Meeting scheduled about restarting San Onofre on Oct. 9, 2012:

Has the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry (MHI) Root Cause Evaluation been completed and a…

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