EDG investigation at San Onofre - SCE reported to NRC

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EDG investigation at San Onofre - SCE reported to NRC Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:15 PM PST Below is a press release from Southern California Edison, courtesy Jennifer Manfre, Senior Manager, Media Relations for SCE.  This release concerns an ongoing investigation into discrepancies found with one of the EDG or Emergency Diesel Generator units at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 3.  -------------------- Southern California Edison Reports Backup Diesel Generator Issue to Nuclear Regulatory Commission ROSEMEAD, Calif. (Nov. 29, 2012) — During routine monitoring in late October, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) personnel detected engine coolant in an oil system on a backup emergency diesel generator in Unit 3. SONGS personnel notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) site inspector on Oct. 30 in compliance with all regulatory reporting requirements. Since Unit 3 is safely offline, defueled and not scheduled to restart in the near term, the presence of the coolant posed no safety risk. The diesel generator was out of service for routine maintenance activities when the discovery was made. On Nov. 27, Southern California Edison (SCE), the primary owner of SONGS, notified the NRC that an internal investigation found evidence of potential tampering as the cause of this abnormal condition. The evidence did not confirm that actual tampering occurred. The investigation of this potential security issue continues. The comprehensive investigation has included rigorous tests, a review of station logs and employee interviews to determine the cause of the presence of the residual engine coolant. Based on the unexpected discovery of the coolant in the diesel oil system and the ongoing investigation, security at the plant has been enhanced. “SCE is committed to the safety of the public and its employees and takes this matter very seriously,” said Pete Dietrich, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer of SONGS. SCE submitted technical information to the NRC on Oct. 4 in support of a proposed restart of Unit 2, which is also safely offline. The unit will not be restarted until all plans have been approved by the NRC. The Unit 3 restart was not included in that regulatory filing and remains shut down. Unit 2 remains shut down since it was taken out of service Jan. 9 for a planned outage. Unit 3 was safely taken offline Jan. 31 after station operators detected a leak in a steam generator tube. More information is available at www.edison.com/songsupdate and at www.SONGScommunity.com. San Onofre is jointly owned by SCE (78.21 percent), San Diego Gas & Electric (20 percent) and the city of Riverside (1.79 percent). About Southern California Edison An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California. -------------------- 4:15 PM Eastern 11/30/2012 ATOMIC POWER REVIEW Edison: Onofre generator tampering possible OCRegister Edison: Onofre generator tampering possible. A backup, emergency generator at the San Onofre nuclear plant might have been tampered with, plant operator Southern California Edison reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week. Tweet ... SABOTAGE SUSPECTED AT SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT East County Magazine November 30, 2012 (San Diego)—Southern California Edison has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of possible sabotage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating facility, after finding coolant poured in the oil reservoir of an emergency backup ... San Onofre nuclear plant may have been sabotaged RT - ‎ The San Onofre Nuclear Generating plant is seen in North San Diego County, California March 14, 2011.(Reuters / Mike Blake). Officials at the San Onofre nuclear power plant in California are investigating why they found coolant mixed with oil in their safety ... Signs of tampering found at shut San Onofre, California nuclear plant Reuters - ‎5 hours ago‎ LOS ANGELES | Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:02pm EST. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Southern California Edison said an emergency generator at one of its San Onofre nuclear reactors may have been tampered with, prompting the utility to beef up security at the plant, ... Possible generator tampering found at nuke plant San Francisco Chronicle - ‎ LOS ANGELES (AP) — Someone may have tampered with an emergency generator at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, but there was no danger because both reactors at the California coastal facility are shut down, operators said. In late October, coolant ... Possible generator tampering found at Calif. nuke plant Boston Herald - ‎ LOS ANGELES — Operators of the San Onofre nuclear power plant say someone may have tampered with an emergency generator but there's no danger because both reactors at the Southern California plant are shut down. The Orange County Register ... San Onofre Nuclear Plant Investigating Possible Sabotage Of Safety System Huffington Post - ‎ A California utility said Thursday it has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of potential sabotage, possibly by an employee, of a crucial piece of safety equipment attached to one of its nuclear power reactors. Southern California Edison said the ...