California senator presses feds after report questions safety at troubled coastal nuke plant
LOS ANGELES — The chair of the U.S. Senate’s environment committee pressed federal regulators Tuesday to disclose details about the design of the troubled steam generators at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, where a probe into tube damage has kept the reactors sidelined for months.
In a letter, Sen. Barbara Boxer asked Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko for documentation on how the federal agency reviewed generator modifications, which might be the culprit in vibration that has damaged hundreds of tubes inside the complex machines.
At issue is whether operator Southern California Edison sidestepped any federal requirements by conducting extensive design changes, a claim leveled by an environmental group that said the alterations are at the heart of the plant’s problems.
The twin reactors, located along the coast between San Diego and Los Angeles, have been shut down for more than three months while investigators try to determine the cause of the unusual tube wear.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/report-questions-safety-of-equipment-at-troubled-san-onofre-nuke-plant-on-calif-coast/2012/05/15/gIQAv24XQU_story.html
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