Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Plan out for San Onofre restart, action still months away

Southern California Edison, operator of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on San Diego County’s northern coast, has come forward with the long-awaited plan to resume power generation activities at the plant.

Edison’s plan is to restart the Unit 2 reactor, which was out of commission for scheduled maintenance when a tube burst at one of the twin Unit 3 reactor’s steam generators and released small amounts of radiation, forcing both reactors into a state of emergency shutdown. Unit 2, which did not suffer such a failure, though abnormal tube wear was discovered at hundreds of points, would run at only 70 percent capacity under the theory that the reduced load would lessen the vibration thought to be the culprit behind premature tube wear and eventual failure.

If all goes well for five months, the reactor would once again shut down for re-inspection to examine the generator tubing and determine whether the reduced load had successfully stopped the excess vibration. Unit 3 would remain shut down pending further examination.

This is not an experiment,” says Pete Dietrich, Edison’s chief nuclear officer, pointing to independent analysis and repeated inspections of the thousands of tubes that comprise the four generators at the two reactors. “We have taken this seriously.”

Nuclear critics, who have advocated for measures ranging from further study to a permanent shutdown of the facility, disagree.

“They don't know how to fix the reactor, so they're just going to slow it down and see what happens,” charges Donna Gilmore of San Onofre Safety, who claims that to resume power generation would “allow Edison to make Southern California a nuclear experiment.”

Regardless of whether or not the decision is made to restart Unit 2 (Unit 3 will definitely remain shuttered at least through next summer), a final ruling will not come quickly. Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Allison Macfarlane says the federal agency will spend months reviewing any plans for future operation at the plant before blessing Edison’s petition.

Photo by awnisALAN via wikipedia.org

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Gonzo Report: Stinkfoot Orchestra conjures Zappa at Winstons

His music is a blend of technical excellence and not-so-subtle humor
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach

Southern California Edison, operator of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on San Diego County’s northern coast, has come forward with the long-awaited plan to resume power generation activities at the plant.

Edison’s plan is to restart the Unit 2 reactor, which was out of commission for scheduled maintenance when a tube burst at one of the twin Unit 3 reactor’s steam generators and released small amounts of radiation, forcing both reactors into a state of emergency shutdown. Unit 2, which did not suffer such a failure, though abnormal tube wear was discovered at hundreds of points, would run at only 70 percent capacity under the theory that the reduced load would lessen the vibration thought to be the culprit behind premature tube wear and eventual failure.

If all goes well for five months, the reactor would once again shut down for re-inspection to examine the generator tubing and determine whether the reduced load had successfully stopped the excess vibration. Unit 3 would remain shut down pending further examination.

This is not an experiment,” says Pete Dietrich, Edison’s chief nuclear officer, pointing to independent analysis and repeated inspections of the thousands of tubes that comprise the four generators at the two reactors. “We have taken this seriously.”

Nuclear critics, who have advocated for measures ranging from further study to a permanent shutdown of the facility, disagree.

“They don't know how to fix the reactor, so they're just going to slow it down and see what happens,” charges Donna Gilmore of San Onofre Safety, who claims that to resume power generation would “allow Edison to make Southern California a nuclear experiment.”

Regardless of whether or not the decision is made to restart Unit 2 (Unit 3 will definitely remain shuttered at least through next summer), a final ruling will not come quickly. Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Allison Macfarlane says the federal agency will spend months reviewing any plans for future operation at the plant before blessing Edison’s petition.

Photo by awnisALAN via wikipedia.org

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.