San Onofre Performs Well in Disaster Test

Federal regulators on Monday gave the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and its neighboring communities high marks in being prepared for a nuclear disaster.

“Generally, we’re happy with their performance,” said Tom Ridgeway, branch chief for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees emergency preparedness. “They have demonstrated that they . . . have plans in place and the ability to protect the public.”

The report, delivered at a morning briefing in San Clemente, was the first public response to last week’s three-day simulated nuclear disaster, which ended Friday.

About 25 regulators from FEMA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission graded the performance of the plant and civilian emergency personnel in response to the simulated disaster--an all-systems test performed every six years.

“All in all,” Ridgeway said, “there were no deficiencies and only a few areas identified that require some correction.”

Among the minor problems were concern over a telephone that malfunctioned at Orange County’s emergency center at Loma Ridge and delays in approving new releases chronicling the disaster, Ridgeway and a plant spokesman said.

In addition, some members of a team assigned to monitor radiation levels in the area needed further training, they said, and plant officials took too long to notify the state Office of Emergency Services of the unfolding disaster. That notification, plant officials said, took 22 minutes instead of the required 15.

Ray Golden, a spokesman for the plant, said the problems cited will be addressed before the next smaller-scale test, scheduled in two years.

“I would describe this as good to very good, slightly better than the last graded exercise we had,” Golden said. “We’re happy with our performance and very happy with the off-site response. But there’s always room for improvement.”

FEMA will publish a preliminary written report on the exercise in about 30 days, allow public comment for 30 days and then issue the final report, Ridgeway said.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will issue its final report in about 30 days, an agency representative at the briefing said.