San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to Conduct Safety Tests, Continue Repairs

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--With wildfires raging in densely populated southern California and being in the midst of a mid-cycle planned maintenance outage on its Unit 3, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) decided it was time to test its emergency warning (siren) system to alert the public of possible impending danger. In the process, the station also took its Unit 2 offline because of safety concerns with valves not operating properly on its cooling and steam systems, although those repairs are not related to the fires or the repairs on Unit 3.

The testing is slated for Wednesday, October 24, 2007, between 10 a.m. and noon (PST), with 51 sirens in the communities around SONGS being activated several times for approximately three minutes apiece. Each siren emits a continuous steady tone that distinguishes them from fire and police sirens.

Whether it is solely because of the wildfires or just to test the system as a whole, the timing is sure to cause a bit of uneasiness among residents who might not be aware that it is going to be taking place Wednesday and who are already on edge with fears that their own areas might succumb to the wildfires. The fires are said to be less than 10% contained, according to the California Department of Forest and Fire Protection. Undoubtedly, such a system being in place is a must-have to alert people of dangers originating from the nuclear power station, but it is also supposed to alert the public to tune into the local TV or radio station for important breaking news.

Sadly, after these tests are performed, the alert system might be put into real action if the wildfires continue to make their way toward the Pacific, where SONGS and most of the nearly 3 million San Diego County residents live.

SONGS is jointly owned by Southern California Edison (SCE) (75% ownership), San Diego Gas & Electric (20%), and the cities of Riverside and Anaheim. Today, SONGS provides nearly 20% of the power to more than 15 million people in Southern California.

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