No. IV-12-021

Contact: Victor Dricks (817) 200-1128

 Lara Uselding (817) 200-1519

 

June 8, 2012 

 E-Mail: OPA4.Resource@nrc.gov

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS STATUS OF AUGMENTED 

INSPECTION AT SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting on June 18 to provide a 

status of the Augmented Inspection conducted at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station 

after several steam generator tubes failed a pressure test. The plant, operated by Southern 

California Edison Co. is located in San Clemente, Calif. This will be the first in a series of 

meetings to be held in the area to keep the public informed on the progress of NRC inspection 

and oversight activities at San Onofre.

The meeting will be held between 6 and 9 p.m. at the San Juan Capistrano Community 

Center, Community Hall, 25925 Camino Del Avion, in San Juan Capistrano. During the first part 

of the meeting, which is open to public observation, the NRC staff will provide a summary of the 

Augmented Inspection Team’s observations thus far followed by a response from the licensee. 

After a short break the NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public and 

accept comments on issues related to San Onofre. 

“We know there is a great deal of interest in how the NRC is ensuring safety at San 

Onofre,” said NRC Region IV Administrator Elmo E. Collins. “We want to provide the public 

with the status of our inspection of the plant’s steam generators and talk about the process the 

NRC will use to ensure that all of our rigorous requirements for operating the facility are met.”

Operators shut down Unit 3 on Jan. 31, after a tube leak in one steam generator was 

identified; Unit 2 had been shut down for a scheduled maintenance outage. Both reactors have 

remained safely shutdown. On March 27, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Action letter 

documenting actions that Southern California Edison officials have agreed to take prior to 

seeking permission to restart the reactors. The NRC has been conducting inspections to 

determine the extent and cause of the tube degradation. Steam generators do experience some 

wear during the first year of operation but the level of tube wear at both units is unusual. 

Between March 13 and 21, 129 steam generator tubes were pressure tested. Eight tubes 

failed acceptance criterion – indicating that they could rupture during some operating conditions. 

The integrity of steam generator tubes is important because the tubes provide an additional 

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barrier inside the containment building to prevent a radioactive steam release. Augmented 

inspections are used by the NRC to review more significant issues such as a tube failure at NRClicensed facilities.

The team reviewed information associated with the design, construction, shipping, 

operation, and testing of the steam generators. The team will issue a written report within the 

next 30 days that will be publicly available. The report will identify areas for further inspection 

follow-up. 

You may access the meeting notice through ADAMS by using accession number 

ML12160A551.

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