Nuclear Plant Gets Checkup
When federal regulators begin an exhaustive three-day inspection Wednesday at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, their task will be to determine whether one of the nation’s most powerful nuclear plants is safe.
But the all-out, all-systems testing, done every six years, takes on greater significance amid concerns about Y2K and whether Southern California’s only nuclear generating plant is up for the challenge.
“We’ve never failed,” said Ray Golden, a spokesman for the plant near San Clemente, which opened in 1968 and generates electricity for 2.5 million households from Santa Barbara to San Diego--about 20% of the region’s power.
Last month’s disaster at a uranium processing plant in Japan, where an uncontrolled nuclear reaction hospitalized three workers with serious radiation poisoning and contaminated 46 others, has raised public concerns about safety, especially if all-important computer systems should malfunction.
San Onofre officials say 45 employees have dedicated the past 18 months--and about $10 million--to testing meticulously every piece of digital equipment and replacing or repairing about 300 components to make sure that does not happen. “We’ve been working on it for four years,” Golden said. “It’s all completed, and we have gone to the greatest of our ability to demonstrate that we are Y2K compliant.”
Government regulators say they endorse the plant’s efforts, both to prevent a disaster and to respond quickly and effectively if the unthinkable should happen.
“They’ve done just fine,” said Tom Ridgeway, branch chief for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees emergency preparedness and will have representatives among the 25 government regulators and inspectors who will observe this week’s test.
Not everyone is as confident, though, and some say the current safety measures underscore the need to find energy alternatives.
“The industry may be safe,” said Lisa Alvarez, a longtime anti-nuclear activist, “but nuclear plants are dependent on humans, and humans still make mistakes. Nuclear energy contaminates the environment and our gene pool like no other source. Its effects can be devastating. Ultimately, I think, it’s just too risky.”
There have been occasional scares since the plant opened in 1968. The most recent was Sept. 29, when a local cable-TV channel erroneously reported a nuclear emergency during a routine test at the plant. The mistake generated more than 200 calls from concerned viewers to law enforcement agencies before a correction was broadcast.
Vigilance increases during earthquakes, when plant personnel evaluate the situation and inspect for damage.
San Onofre’s only official alert was in March, when a plant employee taking a break spotted an unusual-looking copper pipe near one of the reactors. Fearing that it could be a bomb, he told a supervisor, who notified the plant manager. Within minutes, emergency operating centers were on alert. The device turned out to be a discarded pipe.
Ellis Merschoff, regional administrator for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said San Onofre’s safety record and plans for emergency preparedness are a “well-thought-out, thorough and well-exercised program.” His agency, responsible for everything west of the Mississippi, dedicates 5,000 hours a year to inspecting San Onofre through three full-time, on-site representatives and several outside experts.
This week’s inspection, which will include a full disaster simulation, will involve five of the plant’s 60 licensed nuclear operators working in a computerized control room about 2 miles off site. After observing their response, Merschoff said, the federal evaluators will grade them pass or fail, giving the plant an opportunity to correct any deficiencies before taking further action.
“We do these drills to find weaknesses and fix them,” he said. “Every time we inspect, we find some areas that could be better.”
Government regulators and San Onofre managers are quick to point out that no one has ever died or been seriously injured as the result of a commercial nuclear accident in the United States. Since 1979, when the nation’s worst nuclear accident happened at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pa., the industry has undergone a major overhaul of its safety and disaster practices. Nuclear officials say new technology incorporating redundant safety systems has made nuclear accidents next to impossible.
A well-rehearsed emergency plan is in place at San Onofre in case something should go wrong. Plant managers say there are four levels of emergency, all of which will be simulated during this week’s inspection. They range from an unusual event, such as a minor power failure, to an general emergency--the release of radiation into the atmosphere, which could trigger an evacuation.
Because 175,000 people live within 10 miles of the plant, experts say, an evacuation could take as long as 7 1/2 hours. Instead, residents might be instructed to stay in their homes, close doors and windows and turn off air conditioners.
In a general evacuation, Golden said, people would be directed to one of the reception centers for medical evaluation and, if necessary, transfer to a shelter.
Mark Johnson, chairman of the Interjurisdictional Planning Committee that would oversee such an evacuation, said there is no way to predict now how long the public would be banned from the area.
Situated on the beach against a peaceful backdrop of breaking waves and soaring seabirds, San Onofre seems an unlikely setting for disaster. The humming electric generators and 17-story concrete towers housing the reactors are surrounded by barbed wire, though, and uniformed guards with automatic rifles patrol the premises, a reminder of how seriously plant officials take their responsibility.
“The possibility of a significant accident is a million to one,” Golden said, and San Onofre is well prepared for that one.
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In Case of Emergency
Federal law requires the San Onofre nuclear power plant to prepare an evacuation plan in the event of a radiation leak. A look at what would happen during a worst-case emergency:
Source: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
Graphics reporting by BRADY MacDONALD / Los Angeles Times
