Press Release-IV-08-033, NRC Conducting Special Inspection at San Onofre Nuclear Plant
| ML082120542 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | San Onofre  |
| Issue date: | 07/30/2008 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs Region IV |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-IV-08-033 | |
| Download: ML082120542 (1) | |
Text
No. IV-08-033
Contact:
Victor Dricks Phone: (817) 860-8128 July 30, 2008 E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov NRC CONDUCTING SPECIAL INSPECTION AT SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR PLANT The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at the San Onofre nuclear plant in response to problems discovered with several electrical connections affecting plant safety systems. The plant, located near San Clemente, Ca., is operated by Southern California Edison Co.
Following an incident in which maintenance personnel discovered a loose electrical connection on an emergency battery that rendered it inoperable, NRC inspectors identified similar problems that had occurred since 2005. These problems with electrical connections had affected the operability of an emergency diesel generator and batteries that are used to supply power during some accident conditions.
We are concerned about the number of failures and want to take a look at the way the licensee has responded to the issue, said Region IV Administrator Elmo E. Collins.
A three-person team of NRC specialists will review the circumstances related to the problems, the licensees root cause evaluation and the effect it had on the availability and reliability of plant safety systems. The team consists of the San Onofre senior resident inspector and two reactor inspectors from the NRCs Region IV office in Arlington, Texas.
The inspection will begin August 4 and is expected to take several days. The team will write a report about 30-45 days after completion of the inspection. The report will be available on the agencys online document library at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html.
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 612 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4125 Telephone: (817) 860-8128