Disgruntled SONGS Employee “Leaks” Photo of Jury-Rig Repair to San Diego Media
The bad luck for Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) crippled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) continued this week. The local ABC affiliate in San Diego reported on April 30 that it had been given a photo of a makeshift repair to the water box in Unit 3 by a plant employee.
The photo shows a large flange partly covered by plastic sheeting, which is held in place by masking tape and broomsticks.
SCE told the station, “We identified a small leak in the water box and will perform maintenance per our scheduling process. In the meantime, plastic is in place to direct the water from the small leak to a drain. While this system is not needed while unit 3 is defueled, we do periodically circulate ocean water through the system and that’s why we use the temporary plastic to route the water to a floor drain.”
Although temporary fixes to a condenser water box using plastic and tape may be no big deal because this part of the plant is not within the radiation boundary, the fact that an employee leaked the photo suggests plant culture is not optimal.
According to the report, the photo was leaked by an employee who felt the makeshift repair was not in keeping with the high standards the public expects for nuclear plants. Other sources in the plant told the station that SONGS is suffering from excessive corrosion, which may be the cause of the leak. SCE denied these allegations.
SONGS has been shut down since last year after leaks and excessive wear were discovered in the plant’s steam generators. SCE is currently waiting on a response from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to its request to run Unit 2 at 70% power this summer. Meanwhile, multiple reports have described morale among plant employees as being low as a result of the extended shutdown and uncertainty about the plant’s future.
SCE said earlier this week that it might have to retire the plant if the restart plan is not approved.
Sources: POWER, ABC10 San Diego
—Thomas W. Overton, JD, Gas Technology Editor (@thomas_overton)