SAN ONOFRE: Edison says added work will bump up earthquake-study costs New studies could change maximum quake prediction for better or worse

SAN ONOFRE: Edison says added work will bump up earthquake-study costs

New studies could change maximum quake prediction for better or worse

Southern California Edison said it would ask the California PUC to approve $59 million, rather than $31 million, for a seismic study of the area around the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, the North County Times reported. Southern California Edison spokesman Gil Alexander said the extra money was needed because the utility intended to broaden the scope of the three-dimensional study in response to Japan's nuclear crisis.

The additional work, said Alexander, would include drilling "boreholes up to 1,000 feet below the surface" around San Onofre. Alexander was quoted as saying: "The soil samples from these boreholes will be analyzed to better understand the nature and formation of the soil structure beneath the plant. This deeper understanding...will support more refined analyses of how the site responds to earthquakes." The study would also look for prehistoric evidence of tsunamis in the area.