Feds say design flaws led to nuke plant woes

Federal regulators say design flaws appear to be the cause of excessive wear in tubing that carries radioactive water through California’s troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant.

The twin-reactor plant between Los Angeles and San Diego has been sidelined since
January, after a tube break in one of four steam generators released traces of radiation.

A federal investigation was launched after the discovery that some tubes were so badly damaged that they could rupture under certain conditions.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Administrator Elmo Collins told The Associated Press Sunday that source of the problem appears to be the design of the heavily modified generators.

Collins couldn’t rule out that one or more of the generators that were installed in in 2009 and 2010 may have to be replaced.