San Onofre Nuclear Plant shut down for the summer – does Southern California still need it?

This summer may be just a test run for operating Southern California’s electrical grid without a nuclear plant. The latest report on the outage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station shows the replacement of four massive steam generators was accompanied by serious design flaws, with no clear solution in sight. Both stakeholders in San …

As Senator Boxer and City Council get involved, no word on source of radioactive steam leaking from San Onofre

Sen. Barbara Boxer has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a comprehensive review of the radiation leaks at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, to determine how widespread the problems might be. In a letter, Boxer asked to NRC Chairman Gregory Jackzo to “thoroughly assess” the conditions at San Onofre plant “to determine what further …

San Onofre Nuclear Plant shut down after leaking 82 gallons/day of radioactive steam

The NRC’s preliminary event report says plant operators estimated the steam leak at 82 gallons per day. That may sound like a lot but regulators consider it small compared to ruptures in steam tubes at other plants between 1975 and 2000 that vented as much as 630 gallons of radioactive steam per minute. via OC …

Is the nuclear industry suffering from "regulatory capture"?

I was doing a little research on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when I found the following statement: “Some observers have criticized the Commission as an example of regulatory capture“ Just what does that mean? In economics, regulatory capture occurs when a state regulatory agency created to act in the public interest instead advances the commercial or …

Is the nuclear industry suffering from “regulatory capture”?

I was doing a little research on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when I found the following statement: “Some observers have criticized the Commission as an example of regulatory capture“ Just what does that mean? In economics, regulatory capture occurs when a state regulatory agency created to act in the public interest instead advances the commercial or …

Ginormous nuclear haul from California to Utah

Today the largest truck ever to travel in California transports a nuclear steam generator weighing 750,000 pounds to Utah. The 50 foot long turbine is classified as nuclear waste and is travelling on a truck with 192 tires to a nuclear waste dump in Utah. The story of the journey is fascinating. A large police …