Scratches on canisters at San Onofre nuclear site are no big deal, designer says, but others are wor

Scratches on canisters at San Onofre nuclear site are no big deal, designer says, but others are worried

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/energy-green/story/2019-04-10/scratches-on-canisters-at-san-onofre-nuclear-site-are-no-big-deal-designer-says-but-others-are-worried

The contractor that designed the 50-ton canisters that hold fuel assemblies of nuclear waste at the San Onofre nuclear plant has changed the wording in a federal regulation to acknowledge the canisters have scratches on their surfaces, saying the marks “are purely cosmetic” and pose no safety issues.

But the remarks hardly mollified members of the public listening in on a telephone conference from the headquarters of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The federal agency is responsible for protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy and is reviewing the revision.

“It is an item that is open for inspection,” said Michael Layton, the NRC’s director of the Division of Spent Fuel Management.

Holtec International designed the canisters as well as a newly constructed storage facility at the now-shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, also known as SONGS. The plant’s operator, Southern California Edison, hired Holtec as a contractor.

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