Hearing Today Nov. 30 in Laguna Hills as nine cities voice concerns over safety issues
By Miriam Raftery / East County Magazine / Nov. 30, 2012
November 30, 2012 (San Diego)—Southern California Edison has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of possible sabotage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating facility, after finding coolant poured in the oil reservoir of an emergency backup generator at Unit 3, Energy News reports.
The FBI is taking over the investigation and criminal charges are possible, according to a plant employee who spoke under condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals, Huffington Post reports tonight. Previous news stories have speculated that a disgruntled employee could be the culprit due to recent layoff announcements, though the NRC and FBI have not ruled out terrorism.
Failure of emergency generators at Fukushima were key factors in that plant’s meltdown last year. A meltdown at San Onofre would force evacuation of San Diego, portions of East County and also parts of Orange and Riverside counties and could potentially leave the region contaminated for generations.
If the coolant had not been found at San Onofre and the generators activated, Edison indicated that a control that prevents the generator from running too fast would have failed, John Reynoso, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspector at San Onofre, said, Energy News reported on November 9 when the discovery was initially made.
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