ML13067A264

03-08-13 Letter to Honorable Barbara Boxer Concerning Steam Generators of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station

ML13067A264
Person / Time
Site:	San Onofre
Issue date:	03/08/2013
From:	Schmidt R Office of Congressional Affairs
To:	Boxer B US SEN, Comm on Environment & Public Works
Nancy Belmore, 415-1776
References
Download: ML13067A264 (2)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 8, 2013 The Honorable Barbara Boxer Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chairman Boxer:

In response to the Committee's request, please find enclosed a redacted and an unredacted copy of the "Root Cause Analysis Report for tube wear identified in the Unit 2 and Unit 3 Steam Generators of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station," as provided to us by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The NRC staff obtained an unredacted copy of the report sometime between October 12 and 16, 2012, during an inspection conducted at MHI in Kobe, Japan, from October 9-17, 2012. In addition, we are providing you with a redacted and an unredacted copy of the "Supplemental Technical Evaluation Report," which may provide context for the technical issues and corrective actions identified in the Root Cause Analysis report.

The unredacted versions of each report contain proprietary information covered by the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1905). Accordingly, the unredacted versions have been marked as "Not for Public Disclosure" on each page. Because these documents contain sensitive information, the NRC requests that access to these documents be limited to the Committee and those members of its staff who have a need to know.

These reports are being evaluated by the NRC. The NRC commenced its review of the Root Cause Analysis Report during the October inspection in Kobe , Japan. Prior to that, during an Augmented Inspection Team follow-up inspection in September 2012, NRC uncovered additional information related to the design of the replacement steam generators for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS}, some of which is documented in these MHI reports. As you know, on September 28, 2012, the NRC's Office of Investigations initiated an investigation to determine the completeness and accuracy of information that Southern California Edison (SCE) provided to the NRC regarding the steam generators. The NRC staff is evaluating these reports in the context of SCE's use of the 10 CFR 50.59 process for the replacement of the steam generators at SONGS.

The Honorable Barbara Boxer The staff, therefore, is using a variety of regulatory actions such as inspections and investigations to ensure that it is comprehensively addressing all issues that have arisen at SONGS.

Sincerely, .__

~~- 1-d~

Rebecca L. Schmidt, Director Office of Congressional Affairs

Enclosures:

1. Unredacted Root Cause Analysis Report

2. Redacted Root Cause Analysis Report

3. Unredacted Supplemental Technical Evaluation Report 4 . Redacted Supplemental Technical Evaluation Report cc:

Senator David Vitter