Late-Breaking >> Emergency Situation At San Onofre...

[jdcnow]

KCBS 2 and KCAL 9 Los Angeles >> Emergency Reported At San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant

SAN ONOFRE (CBS) — An emergency has been declared at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Diego County.

Orange County Sheriff’s officials say that there was an incident at the plant at approximately 3:10 p.m. Tuesday. The plant and its employees are under a Level 3 Alert, which means there is a serious incident according to the International Nuclear Events Scale.

The classification could mean anything from a near accident to a lost radioactive device. There is also a very low probability of public exposure.

Southern California Edison tells CBS 2 that the incident is “an ammonia leak that is being contained.” SoCal Edison added that the leak is not nuclear.

No radiation is currently escaping from the power plant, Lt. Roland Chacon said. The Orange County Emergency Operations Center has been activated.

No evacuations have been ordered and there is no danger to the public, SoCal Edison said.

Until we, the public, know more about the situation, this line about there being no danger to the public is

.

 

[eddielee]

What a terrible thing to happen in such a populated area. I hope they can contain it and evacuate people. Hopefully, it will turn out to be a minor incident.

 

[jdcnow]

Hopefully, it will turn out to be a minor incident.

I hope to the stars above that you are indeed right, that it is minor.

 

[jdcnow]

Update >> Southern Califoria to KCBS-TV >> "The incident is an ammonia leak that is being contained.”

 

[jdcnow]

More from KGTV 10 in San Diego...

An ammonia leak in the steam system used to drive the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station's turbines prompted an alert at the plant Tuesday, but Southern California Edison officials insisted there was no threat to the public.

The alert was declared at about 3 p.m. when the leak was detected, according to SCE, the majority owner of the plant.

"As a precaution, the company evacuated employees in the area near where the leak was found," according to a statement from Edison. "Other employees remain in other areas of the plant.

There's no immediate danger to the public. Those units are operating normally."

San Diego County officials released the following statement regarding the reported leak:

At 2:50 p.m. today, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station notified the County of San Diego of an ALERT at the station. The plant reports that the ALERT is related to the release of a gas at the plant and that current conditions do not threaten public safety. The County of San Diego, in response to this Alert, has activated and staffed the Operational Area Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with County agency representatives, in order that it may be prepared should the situation at the power plant deteriorate.

At this time, there is no recommended action for the public. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely and advise the public of any changes. The Public Information Hotline has been staffed and is ready to accept questions regarding the current events at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. The Emergency Operations Center has asked that all persons requesting additional information regarding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station emergency contact the Public Information Hotline at 2-1-1. Unless there is a life-threatening emergency, do not call 9-1-1.

All resources and support personnel have been identified and are on standby, ready to be mobilized, if needed.

 

[DigitalFudge]

That would of been beyond devastating. Thank God it is being taken care of.

 

[Lefty]

Not trying to downplay the potential seriousness of

This 'politically' hot news item and the sanctity or the

purity and honesty of the media are not to be questioned,

butt, didn't the D.C. area have an epic experience with

earth quakes?

We had 1 last week epi- centered about 60 miles from my

home of about a 5 plus aftershocks in the 1.5 to 2.5 range.

Then a few days later, a second one hit at just under a

4 on the scale...........either one substantially stronger

than the East Coast Quake of the century...but not as

newsworthy EH

 

[jdcnow]

Correction to post 4 >> It is Southern California Edison...

Update >> KABC-TV Los Angeles reporting that leak is expected to be fixed by end of day today, and alert status is to be dropped. Certainly good news...