Southern California Edison installed replacement steam generators (RSG) at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), located a mere 62 miles southeast of Los Angeles, both of which were fabricated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Japan at a $670 million price tag.
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is a nuclear power plant located on the Pacific coast of California, in the northwestern corner of San Diego County, south of San Clemente. The site is surrounded by the San Onofre State Park and sits next to highway Interstate 5, and is well-known for the spherical containment buildings around the reactors.
The technical problems at San Onofre have plagued operators since construction as quoted in the July 12, 1982 edition of Time Magazine wrote, “The firm Bechtel was … embarrassed in 1977, when it installed a 420-ton nuclear-reactor vessel backwards” at San Onofre.
Unit 1, a first generation Westinghouse pressurized water reactor that operated for 25 years, closed permanently in 1992, and has been dismantled and is used as a storage site for spent fuel. It too had a spherical containment of concrete and steel with the smallest wall being 6 feet (1.8 m) thick.
Units 2 and 3 are Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactors have been shut down since January 2012 due to premature wear found on tubes in steam generators. Unit 2 shut in early January 2012 for refueling and replacement of the reactor vessel head.
In March 2012, former nuclear power executive Arnold Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates, prepared a report that argued that “design modifications in the newly installed steam generators, such as different alloy for the tubes, led to problems at the plant”.
Cooling Regulations
Unlike many pressurized water reactors, but like some other seaside facilities in Southern California, the San Onofre plant uses seawater for cooling, and thus lacks the iconic large cooling towers typically associated with nuclear generating stations.
However, changes to water-use regulations may require construction of such cooling towers in the future to avoid further direct use of seawater. Limited available land next to SONGS would likely require towers to be built on the opposite side of Interstate 5.
NRC letter to Boxer RE: Songs 03-13-2012
SONGS SG Return to Service Action Plan
Ml121280557 – Statement From Chairman Gregory Jaczko on San Onofre Restart
Steam Generators – Pages From March-April 2009 NPJ E-Version
Steam Generators – Pages From March-April 2009 NPJ E-Version-2
NRC Report August 2010 – MHI SG Issues
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 2 and 3 – Relief Request ISI-3-31
Ml12121a509 – Part 21 Interim Report – Steam Generator Tube Wear
ML121170394 – Special Inspection at San Onofre Due to Inadequate Electrical Connections
Ml12109a094 – Part 21 Interim Report – Steam Generator Tube Wear
ML12086A182 – Steam Generator Return to Service Action Plan – 2012
Ml120800460 – Nrc to Send Augmented Inspection Team Tosan Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
Ml12075a258 – Augmented Inspection Team Charter to Evaluate The
Ml12075a219 – Update – Augmented Inspection Team Onsite at San Onofre Unit 3
Ml12032a243 – San Onofre Unit 3 Steam Generator Tube Leak and Rapid Shutdown
ML11241A211 – Emergency Diesel Generator Engine Monitoring Program (EDGEMP)
ML11241A138 – Response to NRC Concerns of Inverter Inoperability
ML11241A137 – San Onofre 2 – 3 EDG Ventilation Fan Nose Cone Corrosion Results in Fan Damage.
ML11241A136 – San Onofre 2 – 3 EDG Ventilation Fan Nose Cone Corrosion Results in Fan Damage
ML11241A135 – SONGS Relay Settings for Degraded Grid Voltage Protection
Ml053130316 – San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Unit 2 Operating License
Ml020700284 – San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Unit 3
030212 – San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Provides Status Update
EditSan Onofre Nuclear Generating Station – Tetra Tech Alternative Cooling System Analysis
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Design and Emergency Response Capability
The Future of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
Edison Terms and Conditions Supplemental Terms Exhibits An Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)
SONGS Confirmatory Action Letter Fact Sheet – Southern California Edison
Cooling Water Intake Structure Technology Fact Sheets
Aging Nuclear Power Plants – Managing Plant Life and Decommissioning September 1993
Aging Nuclear Power Plants – Managing Plant Life and Decommissioning
CONVERTING CALIFORNIA’S TWO NUCLEAR PLANTS FROM OTC TO COOLING TOWERS
MHI Delivers Generators to San Onofre Release_Feb 24 09
Ever Ready 2009 – Protective Action Zones
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station – Nrc Radiation Safety Team Inspection Report 03-11-2004
Knowledge Transfer and Peer Mentoring at SONGS a Case Study
PLM and Steam Generator Replacement at SONGS
A Road to Successful Integrated DCS Upgrades
Anatomy of a Nuclear Plant Planned Outage
San Onfre Nuclear Generating Station – NRC SG Letter
03142012 – San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Provides Unit 3 Testing Update
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Emergency Planning Zone
Edison Terms and Conditions Supplemental Terms Exhibits An Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)
82 
198