I have posted several times about problems at the San Onofre reactor in Southern California. Problems with the faulty installation of new steam generators led to investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as charges and counter charges between the owners, Southern California Edison (SCE) and the manufacturer of the steam generator, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). There has been a startling new development in the public debate about restarting the reactor.
Senator Barbara Boxer has made public a 2004 letter from a SCE Vice President to the General Manager of MHI. In the letter, the utility acknowledges that it knew that there could be a “disastrous outcome” from operating the replacement steam generator at San Onofre. MHI had fabricated the generator to SCE specifications. The letter was concerned that serious problems with the new generators could lead to “unacceptable consequences” for both companies. The VP says that the new designwas based on the seismic response characteristics of the original generator despite the design changes.
Although there had been major design changes made to the replacement generator, SCE told state and federal regulators that the generator was a “like for like” replacement for the original generator. SCE kept its concerns secret. Had they been honest about the design changes, regulations would have required a delay in construction to certify the new design and would have raised costs significantly. Activist groups say that the letter proves that SCE was more concerned about keeping to a construction schedule and making money than insuring public safety.
The anticipated serious problems did arise. In just two years, the new generators failed and caused a release of radiation. The reactors were shut off and opponents of the San Onofre plant want them to stay off. State and federal regulators want additional assurances of safety. SCE wants to restart the reactors this year and is threatening to close the plant permanently if it cannot restart the reactors soon. On May 13, the NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing board said that to grant a license to restart the San Onofre reactors would be an unacceptable experiment without sufficient understanding of the problems and their solutions.
Despite dire warning of electrical outages, so far the utilities in Southern California have been able to make up the missing power from the nuclear plant by firing up natural gas generators which, unfortunately, will increase air pollution in the area.
The San Onofre situation is a perfect example of a theme that I have stated many times. Corporations are institutions that have only the single goal of making money for the shareholders who are shielded by the corporate “veil” from paying for the consequences of bad behavior on the part of the corporation. Again and again it has been revealed that individual corporations have withheld information about the danger of their products and practices. This secrecy has led to the death of millions of people and crippling of millions more. In the nuclear industry, such dishonesty could pose a threat to our very civilization. For the sake of everyone on Earth, nuclear power must end!
