Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

KPBS Midday Edition

San Onofre Shutdown Costing Up To $1 Million A Day

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
Expert On Power Plant Security Speaks to KPBS
San Onofre Remains Idle While Questions Remain Over Cause Of Shutdown
GUESTSGil Alexander, spokesman, Southern California Edison Murray Jennex, Associate Professor, SDSU's Homeland Security Program with expertise in nuclear containment testing Adam Townsend, Editor, San Clemente Patch
Radioactive Leak At San Onofre Nuclear Plant Called 'Low Level' By NRC
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said a tiny amount of radiation could have escaped into the atmosphere from the San Onofre nuclear power plant after a water leak prompted operators to shut down the reactor as a precaution.

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station remained off-line for a second day today after it was shut down by a small gas leak that possibly spread to the atmosphere.

The leak was first detected at the power plant just north of Camp Pendleton at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Personnel then immediately began shutting down the reactor.

The two-day shutdown is likely costing the power plant $600,000 to $1 million a day, Murray Jennex told KPBS television’s Evening Edition. Jennex is an associate professor with San Diego State University’s Homeland Security Program and also worked as a consultant for San Onofre for several years.

Advertisement

Because the steam generator where the leak occurred was only installed in 2010, Jennex said he questions whether there are manufacturing problems with the generator or if it is not being properly maintained.

“As an engineer I’d like to have seen it go a few years without having a tube leak occur,” he said.

Jennex said he suspects a “weird flow condition” might have caused problems with the tube.

“To me that just says perhaps we need to make sure that we’re taking care of the steam generator in the right way,” he said.

Gil Alexander, spokesman for Southern California Edison, confirmed during an interview with KPBS-FM’s Midday Edition that more than one tube was damaged.

Advertisement

“We are detecting some accelerated wear in very small areas on one or two of the tubes,” he said.

NRC spokesman Victor Dricks said radioactive gas "could have" escaped the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on the northern San Diego coast after the Tuesday shutdown.

Alexander said the amount would have been "extremely small" and possibly not detectable by monitors.

The company and federal regulators said the release would not have posed a safety risk for the public.

"It would have been very, very small, low level, which would not pose a danger to anyone," Dricks said.

Corrected: March 18, 2024 at 10:18 PM PDT
The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.