Southern California Edison has completed additional inspections on its Unit 2 steam generators at San Onofre, according to a SCE release Friday.
On April 11, SCE identified wear in two of the 19,454 tubes in the Unit 2 generators that was similar to the type of wear that was previously seen in Unit 3. SCE conducted these inspections with technology specifically designed to identify this type of wear.
“Our number one priority is, and always has been, the health and safety of the public and our employees,” said SCE Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Pete Dietrich. “Our commitment remains the same; the utility will only bring the units on line when we and the NRC are satisfied that it is safe to do so.”
According to the release, SCE also has provided a letter to the NRC to update the regulator on the ongoing Unit 2 inspections and to confirm the actions outlined in the NRC’s Confirmatory Action Letter, which details required actions the company must complete at SONGS before seeking permission to restart the reactors.
The plant has been offline since Unit 2's planned outage on Jan. 9 and Unit 3's shutdown later that month after station operators detected a leak in one of the unit’s steam generator tubes.
Also on Friday, operators at San Onofre declared an "unusual event" when a fire broke out on the non-radiological side of the plant. No one was hurt and there was no threat to the public, officials said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.