NRC, SCE Officials to Discuss Apparent Violation at San Onofre

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV Walnut Creek Field Office 1450 Maria Lane, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596
	CONTACT:	Mark Hammond (Phone: (510) 975-0254, E-mail: mfh2@nrc.gov)

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RIV-5597

September 26, 1997

NRC, SCE OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS APPARENT VIOLATION AT SAN ONOFRE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a predecisional enforcement conference next week with officials of the Southern California Edison Co. to discuss an apparent violation of NRC requirements at the San Onofre nuclear power plant.

The conference will begin at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the NRC Region IV office in Arlington, Texas. SCE operates the San Onofre plant near San Clemente, California. The meeting will be open to the public for observation; NRC officials will be available afterwards for questions.

An NRC inspection conducted on various dates in June through September of this year found an apparent violation in SCE's failure to take corrective actions to prevent recurrence of cracking in instrumentation nozzles on the reactor coolant system. Cracks have been observed in nozzles manufactured in one particular batch. SCE's approach has been to replace the nozzles as cracks are detected, rather than replacing nozzles from the batch in question as a preventive measure.

The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that NRC has made a final determination that a violation did occur or that enforcement action, such as a monetary fine, will be taken. The purpose is to discuss the apparent violation, its cause and safety significance; to provide SCE an opportunity to challenge or correct portions of the NRC inspection report; and for the licensee to outline its corrective actions.

No decision on the apparent violations or any enforcement action will be made at the conference. Those decisions will be made later by senior NRC officials.