San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station: Difference between revisions
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The '''San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)''' is a [[nuclear power plant]] located on the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast of [[California]] |
The '''San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)''' is a [[nuclear power plant]] located on the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast of [[California]], in the northwestern corner of [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]]. The plant is operated by [[Southern California Edison]]. |
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Unit 1 is no longer in service and has been dismantled. |
Unit 1 is no longer in service and has been dismantled. Units 2 and 3, [[Combustion Engineering]] pressurized water reactors, continue to operate and generate 1,172 [[Watt#Electrical_and_thermal_watts|MWe]] and 1,178 MWe respectively. Strong, spherical [[containment building]]s around the reactors are designed to prevent unexpected releases of radiation. The closest tectonic [[fault line]] is the Cristianitos fault, which is considered inactive. |
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Both reactors at San Onofre have been shut since January 2012 due to premature wear found on tubes in massive steam generators installed in 2010 and 2011, and the mishap released a small amount of radioactive steam. Operators are not saying when the units might be repaired and able to restart. |
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| ⚫ | The July 12, 1982 edition of [[Time (magazine)|Time]] states, "The firm [[Bechtel]] was further embarrassed in 1977, when it installed a 420-ton nuclear-reactor vessel backwards" at San Onofre.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925559,00.html | work=Time | title=The Master Builders from Bechtel | date=July 12, 1982}}</ref> |
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There have been many protests against the plant by [[anti-nuclear]] groups. |
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| ⚫ | The plant is operated by [[Southern California Edison]]. [[Edison International]], parent of SCE, holds 78.2% ownership in the plant; [[San Diego Gas & Electric|San Diego Gas & Electric Company]], 20%; and the [[Riverside, California|City of Riverside Utilities Department]], 1.8%. The plant employs over 2000 people. |
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==Reactors== |
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The plant is located in [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV]]. |
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The '''San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)''' is a [[nuclear power plant]] located on the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast of [[California]]. The {{convert|84|acre|adj=on}} site is in the northwestern corner of [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]], south of [[San Clemente, California|San Clemente]], surrounded by the [[San Onofre State Park]] and next to the [[Interstate 5 in California|I-5 Highway]]. |
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Unit 1 is no longer in service and has been dismantled. It is being used as a storage site for spent fuel. It had a spherical containment of concrete and steel with the smallest wall being {{convert|6|ft|m}} thick. This reactor was a first generation [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]] [[pressurized water reactor]] that operated for 25 years, closing permanently in 1992. Units 2 and 3, [[Combustion Engineering]] pressurized water reactors, continue to operate and generate 1,172 [[Watt#Electrical_and_thermal_watts|MWe]] and 1,178 MWe respectively. |
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| ⚫ | The plant is operated by [[Southern California Edison]]. [[Edison International]], parent of SCE, holds 78.2% ownership in the plant; [[San Diego Gas & Electric|San Diego Gas & Electric Company]], 20%; and the [[Riverside, California|City of Riverside Utilities Department]], 1.8%. The plant employs over 2000 people. The plant is located in [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV]]. |
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| ⚫ | The July 12, 1982 edition of [[Time (magazine)|Time]] states, "The firm [[Bechtel]] was further embarrassed in 1977, when it installed a 420-ton nuclear-reactor vessel backwards" at San Onofre.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925559,00.html | work=Time | title=The Master Builders from Bechtel | date=July 12, 1982}}</ref> |
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==2012 shutdown== |
==2012 shutdown== |
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Both reactors at San Onofre have been shut since January 2012 due to premature wear found on tubes in massive steam generators installed in 2010 and 2011, and the mishap released a small amount of radioactive steam. Operators are not saying when the units might be repaired and able to restart. San Onofre officials have pledged not to restart the units until the cause of the tube leak and tube degradation are understood, and the units are expected to be offline during the summer.<ref name=reut12/> |
Both reactors at San Onofre have been shut since January 2012 due to premature wear found on tubes in massive steam generators installed in 2010 and 2011, and the mishap released a small amount of radioactive steam. Operators are not saying when the units might be repaired and able to restart. San Onofre officials have pledged not to restart the units until the cause of the tube leak and tube degradation are understood, and the units are expected to be offline during the summer.<ref name=reut12/> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | The [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of {{convert|10|mi}}, concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about {{convert|50|mi}}, concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.<ref>http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/emerg-plan-prep-nuc-power-bg.html</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The 2010 U.S. population within {{convert|10|mi}} of San Onofre was 92,687, an increase of 50.0 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within {{convert|50|mi}} was 8,460,508, an increase of 14.9 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include San Diego (45 miles to city center).<ref>[[Bill Dedman]], Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors, ''[[msnbc.com]]'', April 14, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42555888/ns/us_news-life/ Accessed May 1, 2011.</ref> |
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==Safety culture== |
==Safety culture== |
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According to the NRC, workers at San Onofre are "afraid they will be retaliated against if they bring up safety problems, something that's against the rules".<ref name=safecul/> As of 2011, there has been progress on the issue, says the NRC, but there is still more work to do. |
According to the NRC, workers at San Onofre are "afraid they will be retaliated against if they bring up safety problems, something that's against the rules".<ref name=safecul/> As of 2011, there has been progress on the issue, says the NRC, but there is still more work to do. So far, the problems have not threatened the safety of plant workers or the public. San Clemente Green is an environmental group opposed to the continued operation of the San Onofre nuclear plant.<ref name=safecul>{{cite web |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/28/anti-nuclear-protest-planned-at-nrc-meeting/ |title=Anti-nuclear protest planned at NRC meeting |author=Onell R. Soto |date=April 28, 2011 |work=SignOnSanDiego }}</ref> |
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==Environmental mitigation== |
==Environmental mitigation== |
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Unlike many pressurized water reactors, but like some other seaside facilities in Southern California, the San Onofre plant uses seawater for cooling, and thus lacks the iconic large [[cooling tower]]s typically associated with nuclear generating stations. However, changes to water-use regulations may require construction of such cooling towers in the future to avoid further direct use of seawater. Limited available land next to the reactor would likely require the towers to be built on the opposite side of the Interstate 5 highway.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sciencedude.ocregister.com/2010/05/04/state-to-power-plants-stop-sucking-in-seawater/98761/ | work=The Orange County Register | title=State to power plants: stop sucking in seawater}}</ref> |
Unlike many pressurized water reactors, but like some other seaside facilities in Southern California, the San Onofre plant uses seawater for cooling, and thus lacks the iconic large [[cooling tower]]s typically associated with nuclear generating stations. However, changes to water-use regulations may require construction of such cooling towers in the future to avoid further direct use of seawater. Limited available land next to the reactor would likely require the towers to be built on the opposite side of the Interstate 5 highway.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sciencedude.ocregister.com/2010/05/04/state-to-power-plants-stop-sucking-in-seawater/98761/ | work=The Orange County Register | title=State to power plants: stop sucking in seawater}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at San Onofre was 1 in 58,824, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.<ref>[[Bill Dedman]], "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk," ''[[msnbc.com]]'', March 17, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42103936/ Accessed April 19, 2011.</ref><ref>http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/quake%20nrc%20risk%20estimates.pdf</ref> |
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==Anti-nuclear protests== |
==Anti-nuclear protests== |
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In the [[role-playing game]] [[Shadowrun]], San Onofre was destroyed by an earthquake in the year 2028 and sealed similarly to the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]].<ref>''Corporate Enclaves'', p.33, Catalyst Game Labs 2007</ref> |
In the [[role-playing game]] [[Shadowrun]], San Onofre was destroyed by an earthquake in the year 2028 and sealed similarly to the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]].<ref>''Corporate Enclaves'', p.33, Catalyst Game Labs 2007</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at San Onofre was 1 in 58,824, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.<ref>[[Bill Dedman]], "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk," ''[[msnbc.com]]'', March 17, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42103936/ Accessed April 19, 2011.</ref><ref>http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/quake%20nrc%20risk%20estimates.pdf</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | The [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of {{convert|10|mi}}, concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about {{convert|50|mi}}, concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.<ref>http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/emerg-plan-prep-nuc-power-bg.html</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The 2010 U.S. population within {{convert|10|mi}} of San Onofre was 92,687, an increase of 50.0 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within {{convert|50|mi}} was 8,460,508, an increase of 14.9 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include San Diego (45 miles to city center).<ref>[[Bill Dedman]], Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors, ''[[msnbc.com]]'', April 14, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42555888/ns/us_news-life/ Accessed May 1, 2011.</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 07:47, 25 March 2012
| San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 33°22′08″N 117°33′18″W / 33.3689°N 117.555°W |
| Status | shutdown for repairs |
| Commission date | Unit 1: January 1, 1968 Unit 2: August 8, 1983 Unit 3: April 1, 1984 |
| Decommission date | Unit 1: November 30, 1992 |
| Operator(s) | Southern California Edison |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity |
|
| External links | |
| Website | www.sce.com/.../SanOnofreNuclearGeneratingStation/ |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is a nuclear power plant located on the Pacific coast of California, in the northwestern corner of San Diego County. The plant is operated by Southern California Edison.
Unit 1 is no longer in service and has been dismantled. Units 2 and 3, Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactors, continue to operate and generate 1,172 MWe and 1,178 MWe respectively. Strong, spherical containment buildings around the reactors are designed to prevent unexpected releases of radiation. The closest tectonic fault line is the Cristianitos fault, which is considered inactive.
Both reactors at San Onofre have been shut since January 2012 due to premature wear found on tubes in massive steam generators installed in 2010 and 2011, and the mishap released a small amount of radioactive steam. Operators are not saying when the units might be repaired and able to restart.
There have been many protests against the plant by anti-nuclear groups.
Reactors
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is a nuclear power plant located on the Pacific coast of California. The 84-acre (34 ha) site is in the northwestern corner of San Diego County, south of San Clemente, surrounded by the San Onofre State Park and next to the I-5 Highway.
Unit 1 is no longer in service and has been dismantled. It is being used as a storage site for spent fuel. It had a spherical containment of concrete and steel with the smallest wall being 6 feet (1.8 m) thick. This reactor was a first generation Westinghouse pressurized water reactor that operated for 25 years, closing permanently in 1992. Units 2 and 3, Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactors, continue to operate and generate 1,172 MWe and 1,178 MWe respectively.
The plant is operated by Southern California Edison. Edison International, parent of SCE, holds 78.2% ownership in the plant; San Diego Gas & Electric Company, 20%; and the City of Riverside Utilities Department, 1.8%. The plant employs over 2000 people. The plant is located in Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV.
The July 12, 1982 edition of Time states, "The firm Bechtel was further embarrassed in 1977, when it installed a 420-ton nuclear-reactor vessel backwards" at San Onofre.[1]
2012 shutdown
Unit 2 shut in early January 2012 for refueling and replacement of the reactor vessel head.[2]
Both reactors at San Onofre have been shut since January 2012 due to premature wear found on tubes in massive steam generators installed in 2010 and 2011, and the mishap released a small amount of radioactive steam. Operators are not saying when the units might be repaired and able to restart. San Onofre officials have pledged not to restart the units until the cause of the tube leak and tube degradation are understood, and the units are expected to be offline during the summer.[2]
Safety culture
According to the NRC, workers at San Onofre are "afraid they will be retaliated against if they bring up safety problems, something that's against the rules".[3] As of 2011, there has been progress on the issue, says the NRC, but there is still more work to do. So far, the problems have not threatened the safety of plant workers or the public. San Clemente Green is an environmental group opposed to the continued operation of the San Onofre nuclear plant.[3]
Environmental mitigation
Strong, spherical containment buildings around the reactors are designed to prevent unexpected releases of radiation. The closest tectonic fault line is the Cristianitos fault, which is considered inactive. Southern California Edison states the station was "built to withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake directly under the plant".[4]
Unlike many pressurized water reactors, but like some other seaside facilities in Southern California, the San Onofre plant uses seawater for cooling, and thus lacks the iconic large cooling towers typically associated with nuclear generating stations. However, changes to water-use regulations may require construction of such cooling towers in the future to avoid further direct use of seawater. Limited available land next to the reactor would likely require the towers to be built on the opposite side of the Interstate 5 highway.[5]
Anti-nuclear protests
On June 22, 1980, about 15,000 people attended a protest near San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.[6]
In March 2012, activists protested the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to mark the one-year anniversary of the nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, Japan. Around 200 people rallied in San Onofre State Beach to listen to several speakers, including two Japanese residents who lived through the Fukushima meltdowns. Residents Organizing for Safe Environment and several other anti-nuclear energy organizations, put on the event and about 100 activists from San Diego were brought in by bus. Though local leaders and industry officials say that a disaster like Fukushima is unlikely at San Onofre, the activists are uncertain, pointing to the plant’s safety record. As of March 2012, San Onofre’s reactors are "off-line due to leaks and wear and tear to the generator tubes. Speakers at the event said they would like for the generators to remain off".[7]
In popular culture
In the James W. Huston novel, Fallout, Pakistani Air Force Pilots attempt to bomb San Onofre using stolen California Air National Guard F-16s. In the James Bond novel License Renewed by John Gardner, it was one of six nuclear power stations in the terrorist/blackmail plot "Meltdown" planned by The Laird of Murcaldy, Anton Murik. In the science fiction novel Timescape, by Gregory Benford, the nuclear plants at San Onofre raised the water temperature along the adjacent coast, which stimulated aquatic life.
The generating station was also featured in the 1983 documentary film Koyaanisqatsi and the 1988 comedy film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. It was featured as the first landmark in the San Diego level of the 1998 video game California Speed.
In the 2011 TV series The Event, the fuel rods were removed from San Onofre to thwart the aliens' plan to steal the uranium to build a transportation array.
In the role-playing game Shadowrun, San Onofre was destroyed by an earthquake in the year 2028 and sealed similarly to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.[8]
Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at San Onofre was 1 in 58,824, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.[9][10]
Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.[11]
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of San Onofre was 92,687, an increase of 50.0 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 8,460,508, an increase of 14.9 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include San Diego (45 miles to city center).[12]
See also
References
- ^ "The Master Builders from Bechtel". Time. July 12, 1982.
- ^ a b Eileen O'Grady (March 21, 2012). "Grid looking at extended San Onofre nuclear outage". Reuters.
- ^ a b Onell R. Soto (April 28, 2011). "Anti-nuclear protest planned at NRC meeting". SignOnSanDiego.
- ^ "L.A. Now". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "State to power plants: stop sucking in seawater". The Orange County Register.
- ^ Williams, Eesha. Wikipedia distorts nuclear history Valley Post, May 1, 2008.
- ^ Jameson Steed (March 12, 2012). "Anti nuclear groups protest San Onofre". Daily Titan.
- ^ Corporate Enclaves, p.33, Catalyst Game Labs 2007
- ^ Bill Dedman, "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk," msnbc.com, March 17, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42103936/ Accessed April 19, 2011.
- ^ http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/quake%20nrc%20risk%20estimates.pdf
- ^ http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/emerg-plan-prep-nuc-power-bg.html
- ^ Bill Dedman, Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors, msnbc.com, April 14, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42555888/ns/us_news-life/ Accessed May 1, 2011.
External links
- "NRC: San Onofre - Unit 1". Nuclear Regulatory Commission. February 7, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- "San Onofre 2 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). February 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
- "San Onofre 3 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. NRC. February 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
- "San Onofre Power Plant Emergency". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. NRC. November 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-2.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - SCE SONGS webpage
- Edison SONGS webpage
- Why Domes at San Onofre from North County Times
- So. Calif. nuclear plant worker faked fire checks
- Decommission San Onofre Fukushima USA