SAN CLEMENTE: Officials say safety at San Onofre needs turnaround

Federal regulators, Edison officials agree safety culture at plant must change

By Paul Sisson - Staff Writer | Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:43 PM PDT ∞

SAN CLEMENTE ---- Top executives with Southern California Edison Co. say that recent problems at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station point to erosion of the plant's safety culture.

Edison, the plant's majority owner and operator, met with representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the conference room of a San Clemente hotel Tuesday to discuss Edison's approach to solving ongoing lapses in plant regulations.

The most significant of those lapses came to light in January 2008 when the commission announced that Edison fired or disciplined seven employees over the last two years for safety and security violations. One of those seven employees ---- a contract fire prevention specialist ---- was found to have skipped hourly rounds for five years and falsified hourly logs to cover his tracks.

The NRC is also investigating irregularities with recordkeeping in the plant's painting crew.

James Reilly, vice president of engineering and technical review at Edison, lamented the fact that, in the case of the falsified fire records, a supervisor never detected the problem although it was ongoing for five years. He said internal investigations show that managers simply were not making sure their employees follow regulations.

"We did not have a strong system of accountability," Reilly said.

Tuesday night, federal regulators said what they have insisted all along ---- that San Onofre has been operated safely. But they added that problems with recordkeeping and due diligence could affect safety if not corrected.

Reilly said that the company is concerned that the problems, if left unaddressed, could worsen.

"It's a precursor to a culture that's gone the wrong way and needs to be turned around," Reilly said.

Edison's board of directors started at the top to help achieve that turnaround.

In January, they appointed Ross Ridenoure as chief nuclear officer and site manager at San Onofre.

Ridenoure said he is not satisfied that the plant has done all it can to correct the lapses in safety.

Speaking to a packed meeting room, Ridenoure said he has replaced a half-dozen plant managers at San Onofre and has instituted new accountability training for all managers.

He said that it will take time to fix an ingrained culture at San Onofre and compared the process to turning an aircraft carrier.

"You have to be patient, and you have to push and push and push on the rudder until they turn," he said.

Charles Casto, deputy regional administrator for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, made it clear that he would prefer a high-performance boat rather than a battleship.

"It's got to turn quickly," Casto said. "We will elevate or escalate our involvement based on your performance."

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.