Ruling Affects San Onofre Restart
The Atomic Licensing and Safety Board found that the destructive vibrations among steam generator tubes that have sidelined San Onofre are not accounted for in the plant’s official safety blueprint, known as the updated Final Safety Analysis Report.
An evaluation by Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff of plans to restart the plant at partial power amounts to an amendment of the operating rules — creating the opportunity for public hearings on the proposal, the board found.
The decision by a three-member panel of administrative judges, independent of nuclear commission staff, complicates plant operator Southern California Edison’s efforts build a secure regulatory footing to restart the Unit 2 reactor as costs mount for repairs and replacement power. Unit 3 has more severe problems that Edison says could take years to resolve.
The plant, once capable of powering 1.4 million homes at time, has been sidelined since Jan. 31, 2012, when a small radiation leak helped uncover rapid wear on steam generator tubes carrying radioactive water.
Edison officials deferred questions Monday until they can thoroughly review the order. The utility could appeal the decision to the full five-member nuclear commission, which last year directed the atomic safety board to take up the matter.