San Onofre nuclear reactor, Unit II, shut down for approx. 20 days for repairs; x-rays should be done for circular cracks in the reactor vessel

To: "Editor, NC Times" <opinion@nctimes.com>, "Phil Diehl" <pdiehl@nctimes.com>, "Ron Raposa" <rraposa@nctimes.com>, "Katie Burns"<kburns@nctimes.com>
From: "Russell D. Hoffman" <rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com>
Subject: San Onofre nuclear reactor, Unit II, shut down for approx. 20 days for repairs; x-rays should be done for circular cracks in the reactor vessel
Cc: governor of California, "Barbara Boxer, Senator (CA, D)" <senator@boxer.senate.gov>, <president@whitehouse.gov>, <opa@nrc.gov>, "Ray Golden-spokesperson" <goldenrr@songs.sce.com>

Date: October 13th, 2001
Subject: San Onofre nuclear reactor, Unit II, shut down for approx. 20 days for repairs; x-rays should be done for circular cracks in the reactor vessel

By: Russell D. Hoffman

To The Editor:

Yesterday it was reported that San Onofre Nuclear (Waste) Generating Station's Unit II reactor has been shut down for repairs lasting about three weeks. 

Last August, San Onofre's operators, Southern California Edison, refused to shut their two operational reactors down in order to do x-rays of their reactor vessels for circular cracks around the approximately 100 nozzles which enter each vessel, choosing to wait, instead, until the regular repair schedule dictated a shutdown.  Circular cracks have been identified as a potentially catastrophic, inherent design flaw in Pressurized Water Reactors.  The problem has been found in French and Japanese PWRs, and last spring, in PWRs in two out of three reactors on the Oconee (South Carolina) generating station.

San Onofre's reactors are about 20% larger than the Oconee reactors (more heat, more liquid, more vibration, etc.).

I have previously described the circular cracking problem in detail in several essays and letters to the editor which I posted online here:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/environm/onofre/nct2001h.htm

Now that the reactor is shut anyway, is San Onofre doing the x-rays?  My guess is no, because I believe if they were, it would have been reported.

The decision not to shut the reactors down in August for an x-ray inspection was yet another flagrant violation of the spirit of safety which they claim to have at San Onofre.  To not shut them down following the September 11th attacks is even crazier.

But in any event, if they don't x-ray the welds on the Unit II reactor vessel while the reactor is shut down right now anyway, it's definitely nothing less than criminal negligence.

Sincerely,

Russell D. Hoffman
Concerned Citizen
Carlsbad, CA

P.S. Congratulations, Phil Diehl (reporter, North County (San Diego) Times) on taking the third place award for investigative reporting at the San Diego Press Club's 2001 Excellence in Journalism ceremony recently!  I do hope it wasn't for your San Onofre reports though, which have been strictly third-rate, not third-place.
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http://www.animatedsoftware.com/environm/no_nukes/11thhour.htm
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First posted October 13th, 2001.

Webwiz: Russell D. Hoffman