San Onofre (SONGS)

[Sun Dog]

It seems unfair to make sport of bashing a place with uninformed generalities.

Uninformed?  These are just a few of the 1000's of examples of the SONGS culture/performance.  If you are there for the outage perhaps you can update us on some common performance indicators (Near Misses, Human Performance Events, Injuries, Dropped Objects, PCEs, Exposure, Schedule Adherance, etc) to show how well things are going.  

11/01/10: A mandatory site-wide stand down will be conducted Monday, Nov. 1, 2010 for all SONGS employees and contractors. All work will be stopped from 0600 to 0730 and from 1800 to 1930 to review recent events, discuss adverse trends, and actions
necessary to improve performance. Managers will ensure all employees participate in the stand down. If employee work schedules fall in between the mandatory stand down windows, managers will ensure those employees participate in a stand down during
their shift. Recent Events and Current Trends

Less than 20 days into the outage we've had 28 injuries, 22 personal contamination events (PCEs), 19 foreign material exclusion (FME) events, 7 dropped objects, and several other human performance events. Although prompt investigations have been conducted for these events, corrective actions have not been effective in improving station performance. We must work together as a team to stop this adverse trend.

09/03/10: Government regulators say San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station has fallen further behind in identifying and solving problems involving the safety culture at the plant, despite previous assurances from top managers.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_934c6caa-bf61-5e12-a744-48b303b48710.html

03/02/10: Fear of management retaliation is so widespread among employees at the San Onofre nuclear plant that some are reluctant to report safety concerns, even though plant workers as a whole made nearly 10 times more safety complaints than the mid-range for the industry in 2009.

http://greenoc.freedomblogging.com/2010/03/02/nrc-san-onofre-workers-fear-retaliation/20649/

03/02/10: Southern California Edison's SCE restart of the 1,070-megawatt Unit 2 at the San Onofre nuclear power plant in California has been delayed by problems with a pressure test in the containment building that occurred last week, a spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Monday.
The unit, which shut Sept. 27 to refuel and to replace the unit's steam generators, is entering the sixth month of an outage that had been expected to return by late December.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0225637020100302

[wingnut]

It's plants like SONGS that keep CAP guys like me from ever running out of work. The good news is that they're the exception. My last three outages were so trouble free (CAP-wise that is) that the biggest problem was not getting bored. 

[Longtime Nuke]

If you are there for the outage perhaps you can update us on some common performance indicators (Near Misses, Human Performance Events, Injuries, Dropped Objects, PCEs, Exposure, Schedule Adherance, etc) to show how well things are going.  [/b] [/color]

I dont know many of these, and doubt they make much difference to you.

I can help with a couple.  PCEs and dose are below goal, paychecks come on time, sun is shining and nobody I know gets hurt here.

[btkeele]

A few thoughts... First off, SONGS has issues just like every other plant out there, I'm not going to say otherwise... Perception vs Reality is often in the eyes of the beholder...

However, a lot of the issues being brought up here (See SunDog's last entry) are really industry wide, not just at Songs..  Injuries, Human Performance Issues, Near Misses... pretty much the same
everywhere.. why?  It's the same workers, procedures, work practices, PPE, etc...  Do carpenters install scaffold differently from 1 plant to another?  Are safety hazards not marked the same?
Is lighting (poor) only an issue at Songs?  (why do we have to take flashlights for initial entries at
every plant).  The threshold at Songs to report injuries is very low , here are a few examples of FA's.   Pulled muscle removing backpack.  Sore wrist from typing.  Blister on foot from safety shoes.
Chipped tooth from eating sandwich.  (LOL my fav).  The same goes for human performance issues..
same workers making mistakes...

Dropped items...  Diablo was much worse (I don't know why, it's the same workers here, same procedures, same mistakes)  Comanche Peak had a large shackel go from the construction opening down to the eq hatch platform (missed a worker by a few feet) then bounced to the ground narrowly missing another worker... how many stand-downs have we had and still these things happen at every plant.. I don't know the solution, but, to blame only Songs Mgmt for these issues is wrong, plenty of
blame to go around.

[btkeele]

continued:

Schedule adherance:  Let me get this straight... Songs is being criticized for taking the time to
fix problems before starting back up?  Last year the SGR went fine, then issues with ECCS piping were found and the time was taken to fix them, delaying re-start....What about CR then? how
long have they been down... I really dont understand this beef at all, why would anyone want to rush a plant back on-line before the issues are resolved...(confused)

Employee concerns... apparently a few years ago there was a questionaire passed out to all the workers (many contractors) who said they were afraid to or didn't know how to raise concerns...
once again, these are the same workers we deal with at every plant.  Songs and every other plant I have been to take great pains to let the workforce know how to bring up concerns and continually reassure them that there will be no retaliation, here at Songs they have taken it up a notch from any other plant (well maybe Comanche Peak) in letting the workers know how to raise these concerns.  Bartlett has even had a stand-down specifially to talk about the Safety Conscience Work Environment program here.  As mentioned earlier (thepeople) the Notification system here does get
abused for too many minor issues, but, at least they are all getting looked at...

finally (tired of typing)  PCE's and Exposure.   Both are very low compared to other plants SGR's.
Diablo is generally a plant everyone compares themselves to, Songs will come in way under them in
exposure for a SGR (I know there are many factors involved and it's like comparing apples to oranges) but, some people on here don't get that.  PCE's?   TMI (what's their INPO Rating btw)
had more uptakes in 1 day than Songs will have PCE's in 2 SGR's.... once again, apples and oranges.

I personally have had a great run here at Songs, I have really enjoyed the people I have worked with and l look forward to finishing the outage and moving on... We have issues here, no doubt, but
overall it has been a very positive experience.

Barry

[Longtime Nuke]

This position will be a Project Manager - Nuclear Corrective Action Program in the Performance Improvement / Corrective Action Program Division within Southern California Edison (SCE)'s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).

Typical responsibilities include: implementing initiatives to provide closure justification for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) commitments.


And on your day off you'll be expected to create everlasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Somebody needs a hobby.

[nuclearnavajo]

OK, the Firewatch who was outside of the radiography boundary getting a dose rate alarm makes me a bit nervous. You would think that more care would be taken in what in such a potentially hazardous evolution. PCE's aren't much of an indicator to me of a plant's HP program (they vary so much in reporting and definition), however inadequate radiography boundaries are. The jury is still out on what the corrective actions will be, I hope the situation will be rectified promptly. I have enjoyed most of the time here .

[HydroDave63]

But the sun was shiny and the ocean breeze was refreshing, right?

[nuclearnavajo]

Why yes, it was.... This whole time I thought it was the plant, it might just be the weather!

[Nuke of the North]

This position will be a Project Manager - Nuclear Corrective Action Program in the Performance Improvement / Corrective Action Program Division within Southern California Edison (SCE)'s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).

Typical responsibilities include: implementing initiatives to provide closure justification for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) commitments.

Buwahahahah. They still haven't successfully filled my old job? Going on 4 years now...

[Fermi2]

Buwahahahah. They still haven't successfully filled my old job? Going on 4 years now...

OR they've successfully filled it and that person has gone on to bigger and better things.

IIRC over the last 6 to 9 years SONGs hasn't been known for having a stellar corrective action program. INPO 3 and 4 doesn't just magically happen so it doesn't look like you were much of a world beater when you had that job eh?

[Nuke of the North]

OR they've successfully filled it and that person has gone on to bigger and better things.

IIRC over the last 6 to 9 years SONGs hasn't been known for having a stellar corrective action program. INPO 3 and 4 doesn't just magically happen so it doesn't look like you were much of a world beater when you had that job eh?

The problem was not the quality of the ACE's and RCE's, it was getting the Managers and SPM's to face reality and accept accountability for the CA's. Also, the absolute inability to hold any Local 246 workers personally accountable for ANYTHING doesn't help either. When I left we were INPO 2. I keep in touch, and know that they haven't been able to keep anyone interested in that job since then. No one is willing to put up with all of the political cr@ppola for any length of time. Can't say I blame them.

[tr]

NRC just moved SONGS 2 from column 2 (for having one white finding) to column 1 (all performance indicators and cornerstones green).  This puts both SONGS units in column 1.

[HydroDave63]

Good news indeed!

[starving_dog]

How goes the outage, getting close to the end?

[HydroDave63]

How goes the outage, getting close to the end?

Which one?

Facility: SAN ONOFRE
Region: 4 State: CA
Unit: [ ] [ ] [3]
RX Type: [1] W-3-LP,[2] CE,[3] CE
NRC Notified By: DOUG FOOTE
HQ OPS Officer: JOHN KNOKE  Notification Date: 01/31/2012
Notification Time: 22:58 [ET]
Event Date: 01/31/2012
Event Time: 17:30 [PST]
Last Update Date: 01/31/2012 
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL
Person (Organization):
JEFF CLARK (R4DO)
SCOTT MORRIS (IRD)
LOUISE LUND (NRR)


Unit SCRAM Code RX CRIT Initial PWR Initial RX Mode Current PWR Current RX Mode
3 M/R Y 100 Power Operation 0 Hot Standby

Event Text

MANUAL TRIP DUE TO A PRIMARY TO SECONDARY LEAK GREATER THAN 30 GAL/HR

"At 1505 PST, Unit 3 entered Abnormal Operation Instruction S023-13-14 'Reactor Coolant Leak' for a steam generator leak exceeding 5 gallons per day.

"At 1549 PST, the leak rate was determined to be 82 gallons per day. At 1610 PST, a leak rate greater than 75 gallons per day with an increasing rate of leakage exceeding 30 gallons per hour was established and entry into S023-13-28 'Rapid Power Reduction' was performed.

"At 1630 PST, commenced rapid power reduction per S023-13-28 'Rapid Power Reduction'. At 1731 PST, with reactor power at 35% the Unit was manually tripped. At 1738 PST, Unit 3 entered Emergency Operation Instruction S023-12-4 'Steam Generator Tube Rupture'.

"At 1800 PST the affected steam generator was isolated."

All control rods fully inserted on the trip. Decay heat is being removed thru the main steam bypass valves into the main condenser. Main feedwater is maintaining steam generator level. No relief valves lifted during the manual trip. The plant is in normal shutdown electrical lineup.

Unit 2 is presently in a refueling outage and was not affected by this event.

The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. The licensee has issued a press release.

Tube rupture this early in S/G life...FME issue???

[Nuke of the North]

Tube rupture this early in S/G life...FME issue???

Still under warranty - or did they turn down the extended service contract?

Maybe they should call in the Geek Squad to do the repair.

[LaFeet]

Mayhap the media should understand the difference between a S/G Utube leak and an actual oozing of materials out into the public. 

Sensational news for those that are clueless.

[MeterSwangin]

.Tube rupture this early in S/G life...FME issue???

Not tube rupture.  Tube leak.  Very small.  Common in 1st cycle after replacement.  20,000 tubes in the unit.  Expect 1 or 2....................

[HydroDave63]

Not tube rupture.  Tube leak.  Very small.  Common in 1st cycle after replacement.  20,000 tubes in the unit.  Expect 1 or 2....................

You'll need to tune these people up then...

Tubes inside a new steam generator at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station are showing unusual and potentially dangerous signs of deterioration, federal regulators announced on Thursday.

"The amount of wear that we are seeing on these tubes is unusual for a new steam generator," said Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Victor Dricks.

More than 800 tubes showed a 10 percent thinning in the tube wall, officials said. 69 others had at least 20 percent thinning. And two tubes needed to be plugged and taken out of service because a third of the wall was worn away.

"If you have that kind of thinning anywhere along the length of the tube, you have a problem because it degrades the integrity of the tube, which can contribute to leaks," explained Dricks.

Safety implications could be "very severe," warned Joram Hopenfeld, a retired NRC engineer and researcher, as the tubes are one of the primary barriers to radioactivity

Trouble in the steam generator was discovered during an inspection that took place when the plant, owned by Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and the City of Riverside, was off-line for maintenance and refueling. 

This news comes two days after operators powered down the reactor following a tube leak at the plant's other unit.

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/news/2012/02/02/4506/radioactive-water-tubes-steam-san-onofre-nuclear/

[Fermi2]

Not tube rupture.  Tube leak.  Very small.  Common in 1st cycle after replacement.  20,000 tubes in the unit.  Expect 1 or 2....................

Not common at all. Incorrect. And 30 GPM is NOT a small leak.

[Already Gone]

Not tube rupture.  Tube leak.  Very small.  Common in 1st cycle after replacement.  20,000 tubes in the unit.  Expect 1 or 2....................

I am at a total loss to understand that statement.

If you expect the world to believe that 30 gpm is to be expected from brand new steam generators, then the logical inference is that older ones would be expected to leak a lot more.  To follow that through, a person would be correct in believing that most nuclear power plants leak like a screen door on a submarine.  If this type of leakage were common, the anti-nukes would be totally right in demanding us to shut them all down.

But, my real concern is with the attitude that you are displaying.  If you can play this off as nothing, then maybe the anti-nukes are wrong - but not about you.  If you find this acceptable, you are in the wrong business.  If you are making tennis balls or growing potatoes, you would be right to expect 1 or 2 out of 20,000 to be junk (probably more), but for the pressure boundary of a nuclear reactor, you expect exactly 20,000 out of 20,000 to hold.

Not only is this highly unusual for new s/g's, it is highly unusual for all s/g's.  This isn't a catastrophe, but it isn't just another day at the office either.  Something failed that was absolutely not supposed to fail, the plant and its operators reacted as they should, the leak was contained, nobody is harmed, it can be fixed ... but it is still a failure and it is not acceptable.

[RDTroja]

I am at a total loss to understand that statement.

If you expect the world to believe that 30 gpm is to be expected from brand new steam generators, then the logical inference is that older ones would be expected to leak a lot more.  To follow that through, a person would be correct in believing that most nuclear power plants leak like a screen door on a submarine.  If this type of leakage were common, the anti-nukes would be totally right in demanding us to shut them all down.

But, my real concern is with the attitude that you are displaying.  If you can play this off as nothing, then maybe the anti-nukes are wrong - but not about you.  If you find this acceptable, you are in the wrong business.  If you are making tennis balls or growing potatoes, you would be right to expect 1 or 2 out of 20,000 to be junk (probably more), but for the pressure boundary of a nuclear reactor, you expect exactly 20,000 out of 20,000 to hold.

Not only is this highly unusual for new s/g's, it is highly unusual for all s/g's.  This isn't a catastrophe, but it isn't just another day at the office either.  Something failed that was absolutely not supposed to fail, the plant and its operators reacted as they should, the leak was contained, nobody is harmed, it can be fixed ... but it is still a failure and it is not acceptable.

Apparently credibility is not as important as defending his very rosy image of the plant he works in. People like that give us all a black eye and chip away at our own credibility just by association.

[dirac]

Not common at all. Incorrect. And 30 GPM is NOT a small leak.

Leak was 80 gallons per day (.065 gpm) and a rate of change of 30 gallons per hour.

[HydroDave63]

I am glad to know that the Master-Lee employee who fell into the U2 refueling cavity is OK and should have no long term effects from the incident.

Do I have to log the water wings in the FME log?