U.S. senator reveals 'truly shocking' information about California nuclear plant — 'Restart of San Onofre reactors is now off the table'
ENENews
Title: San Onofre: Internal letter reveals Edison knew of defects at crippled
reactors but misled federal regulators to get expedited license
Source: Friends of the Earth News Release
Date: May 28, 2013
“Restart is dead”
Sen. Barbara Boxer has released a private 2004 letter from Southern California Edison that reveals the utility knew of major problems in its radically redesigned replacement steam generators at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station that could lead to a “disastrous outcome,” but the company knowingly misrepresented its failed design as a “like-for-like” replacement to sidestep a more thorough license review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The leaked letter confirms accusations of the nuclear watchdog group Friends of the Earth. Its release, said the group, means Edison’s restart plan is dead.
“This letter from Edison management is truly shocking,” said Damon Moglen, climate and energy director for Friends of the Earth. “It shows definitively that Edison was more concerned with keeping to a construction schedule and making money than with assuring safe operation of their reactors. It raises serious questions about their honesty and about the NRC’s handling of the San Onofre license.
“The restart of San Onofre reactors is now off the table. No one can possibly argue for the further operation of these crippled reactors when such an experiment places the lives and livelihoods of millions of Southern Californians at risk.” [...]
“Friends of the Earth accused them, the ASLB judged them and now Edison has confessed,” said Dave Freeman, former head of the federal Tennessee Valley Authority and senior advisor to Friends of the Earth. “The San Onofre restart plan is now deader than a doornail. It’s over.”