SONGS Reports Vibration Sensor Issue With Implications for Backup Power During Earthquakes

SONGS Reports Vibration Sensor Issue With Implications for Backup Power During Earthquakes

by Nuclear Street News Team

Engineers at Southern California Edison’s San Onofre nuclear plant have reported that vibration sensors meant to protect bearings in emergency diesel generators could conceivably shut them down during an earthquake.

While actual reactor accident conditions would cause emergency systems to bypass the sensor and keep the diesels running, the plant nonetheless disabled the electronics in question and reported the discovery to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as an unanalyzed condition.

You can download a copy of Southern California Edison’s report to the NRC here.