California nuclear plant shut indefinitely (CNN) — A large
Southern California nuclear plant is out of commission
indefinitely, and will remain so until there is an understanding
of what caused problems at two of its generators and an
effective plan to address the issues, the nation’s top nuclear
regulator said Friday. Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, refused to give a timetable as to
when the San Onofre nuclear plant could resume operation. He
said only that his agency had “set some firm conditions” as to
when that could happen. “We won’t make a decision (to approve
the facility’s restart) unless we’re satisfied that public
health and safety will be protected,” Jaczko told reporters.
“They have to demonstrate to us that they understand the causes,
and … that they have a plan to address them.” The power plant
has been shut down since this winter, when a small amount of
radioactive gas escaped from a steam generator during a water
leak. At the time, federal regulators said th