NRC: Faulty Steam Generator Testing, Design to Blame for SONGS Problems
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission pointed a finger at the design of steam generators manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as it summarized recent inspections of premature tube wear at Southern California Edison’s San Onofre nuclear plant.
At
a public meeting Monday and in statements by NRC personnel published
over the weekend, the federal agency said inspections point to faulty
testing and design as likely causes of steam generator problems that
have kept SONGS units 2 and 3 offline for months. At the meeting, NRC
officials said MHI miscalculated the velocity of water flowing through
the steam generators by a factor of three or four, California media
reported, leading to unexpected levels of vibration and wear.In an interview with the Associated Press Sunday, NRC Regional Administrator Elmo Collins said inspections have primarily pointed to the steam generators’ design. It was modified to add 400 tubes and V-shaped support structures engineered to minimize tube wear. Instead, eight tubes in unit 3 failed pressure tests, which Collins said was unprecedented in the industry.
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