U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) on Friday called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rethink its decision against posting a full-time inspector at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) until completion of the used reactor fuel offload at the retired power plant.
The lawmaker, whose congressional district covers SONGS, cited a list of safety issues dating back more than a decade that he said demand increased scrutiny by the nuclear industry regulator. The most recent was the August 2018 mishap that nearly a year ago halted the transfer of spent fuel to dry storage.
“I would like to be able to tell my constituents that they should be comforted to know hat the NRC is genuinely committed to protecting their safety,” Levin, who has focused on safety at the Southern California Edison (SCE) facility in San Diego County, wrote in a letter to NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki. “However, a review of your recent record fails to provide that comfort.”
Levin wrote that he and Svinicki are scheduled to meet in the next few weeks to discuss the issue. The NRC on Monday said only that it would respond to the first-term congressman’s letter “through its normal process.”
Southern California Edison closed SONGS in 2013. The utility selected Holtec International to transfer the reactors’ spent fuel from wet to dry storage. Last August, one canister of fuel assemblies was left at risk of a nearly 20-foot uncontrolled drop for close to an hour after becoming lodged on the shield ring for its storage slot.
Following an investigation, the NRC in March fined Southern California Edison $116,000 for violations of federal nuclear safety regulations. The agency in May authorized the fuel offload to resume, which SCE expects to happen within a matter of weeks.
In his letter, Levin criticized the agency for instituting a $116,000 penalty on a company with $56 billion in assets and choosing not to post a full-time inspector at SONGS “while being aware of the dubious record at the site and knowing how such an action would help rebuilt the public trust.”
