San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station | |
 San Onofre NPP
|
|
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Reactors | |
| Reactor supplier | CE - Combustion Engineering |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Power | |
| Capacity | MW |
| Status | Operating |
| Other details | |
| NRC region | 4 |
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is a nuclear power plant located on the Pacific coast of California. The 84 acre (340,000 m²) site is in the northwestern corner of San Diego County, south of San Clemente, and surrounded by the San Onofre State Park. It provides nearly 20% of the electrical power to the residents of Southern California.
Unit 1 is no longer in service. This reactor was a first generation Westinghouse pressurized water reactor that operated for 25 years, closing permanently in 1992. Units 2 and 3, Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactors, continue to operate and generate 1,172 MWe and 1,178 MWe respectively.
The plant is operated by Southern California Edison. Edison International, parent of SCE, holds 78% ownership in the plant; San Diego Gas & Electric Company, 20%; and the City of Riverside Utilities Department, 1.8%.
The environment is protected from potential unexpected releseases of radioactivity by strong, sphere shaped containment structures. This containment structure feature was missing at the reactors at Chernobyl;
The closest fault line is the Christianitos fault, which is said to be inactive. San Diego County states the station was "built to withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake directly under the plant".[1]
[edit] In popular culture
In the James W. Huston book, FALLOUT, Pakistani Air Force Pilots attempt to bomb San Onofre using stolen California Air National Guard F-16s.
The generating station was also featured in the 1983 film Koyaanisqatsi.
Original San Onofre Unit-1 Power Plant was used as the "Gotham City" Atomic Reactor in the 1960's Batman TV show starring Adam West.
In Timescape, by Gregory Benford, the nuclear plants at San Onofre raised the water temperature along the adjacent coast, which stimulated aquatic life.
Visible from Interstate 5, the generating station containment domes are often compared in appearance to women's breasts. In the 1988 movie The Naked Gun, Frank Drebin says the line, "Everywhere I look something reminds me of her," as a shot of the domes is shown. They are also referred to as "nuclear tits" in the Descendents song "Kids On Coffee".
[edit] Environmental studies
The site is also notable for the environmental impact studies that were conducted prior to and after the power stations construction. The studies were ahead of their time in their level of detail and the use of an independent body to conduct the monitoring.
[edit] External links
- DoE web page
- SCE SONGS Webpage
- Why Domes at San Onofre from North County Times
- So. Calif. nuclear plant worker faked fire checks
- San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is at coordinates Coordinates:
 |
This article about a United States power station is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
