In California, a damaged nuclear power plant had to be closed
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Thursday published 12 July an update of the problems faced by the San Onofre nuclear power plant in California, where it believes that the situation is more serious than it had thought at the beginning . One of the reactors at this power plant near San Diego had to be shut down in January as a result of radioactive leaks. The NRC had assured that there was no direct danger to the population.
But further research initially showed unexpected erosion on many pipes carrying radioactive water. The plant was therefore completely shut down, prompting California state authorities to refer to alternative sources of electricity. The San Onofre plant produces enough electricity to power 1,4 million homes in the United States, according to operator Southern California Edison (SCE).
MORE 3 400 DAMAGED TUBES
Thursday, an update of the review of the tubes has been quietly published on the NRC website: it reveals that the situation has worsened. This report "shows a much more serious problem than what was initially announced, and raises serious questions about whether or not to put the reactors back into service," commented Daniel Hirsch, an expert on nuclear power at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
The new data show that more than 3 400 steam generator tubes at San Onofre power plant are damaged. The SCE operator was pushing to restart electricity production in at least one of the plant's units before the end of the summer, but "now we know that if he wants to do that, he will have to operate with a very large number of damaged tubes, ”Hirsch said. A spokesperson for SCE declined to respond immediately. The NRC also did not comment on the new figures.
The 2 reactors of the plant have been commissioned in 1982 and 1983 ... for ... 40 years (humhum) ...
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrale_n ... San_Onofre
Proof (?) That the life expectancy (or pushed back) by all the nucleo-electricians of 40 years without worries is illusory ... (especially if one starts from a power station designed for 20 years ...)
In 2010, 58 incidents were reported by employees or contractors working at San Onofre, against 5 for all other US production sites. For the period from January 2010 to August 2011, 81 incidents were reported4.
Since January 2012, while the No. 2 reactor is stopped for refueling, the reactor No. 3 was stopped following an alarm signaling a leak of radioactive vapor in the primary circuit, at the level of 5 steam generators. The leakage of radioactive vapor on one of the steam generators of Unit No. 3 was estimated to be "greater than" 100 liters per hour6. This steam generator, recently replaced, has a serious defect in the heat exchange tubes: several hundred of these tubes would be more or less damaged according to the NRC7.
More information on the page in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Onofre ... ng_Station