San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) has been shut down since January of 2012, due to premature wear found on the tubes in the newly installed steam generators. Southern California Edison has since petitioned the NRC to allow restarting of Unit 2, to be run at 70% load.
But numerous whistleblowers have called attention to lax maintenance and the horrible conditions found at SONGS:
An inside source gave Team 10 a picture snapped inside the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) showing plastic bags, masking tape and broom sticks used to stem a massive leaky pipe.
San Onofre owner Southern California Edison (SCE), confirms the picture was taken inside Unit Three, but did not say when. The anonymous source said the picture was taken in December 2012.
The inside sources continue:
Sources also pointed to what appears to be corrosion on the pipe as a sign of the power plant's age.
They claim rust is rampant throughout SONGS -- including what sources call a fire suppression pipe, which protects both units.
"There's a pipe that runs along the security fence, from one side of the plant to the other side of the plant -- it’s totally blistered," one inside source told Team 10.
The tepid response from Southern California Electric:
"To take an isolated picture and leap to some kind of conclusion about maintenance is a pretty big leap," SCE’s Brown said in a phone conversation.
It's not at all a "big leap", but a logical conclusion that a rustbucket is a rustbucket.