Premature wear of steam generator tubes at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station unit 2 appears to be more similar to tube wear in unit 3 than originally thought.
Both reactors are offline following the discovery of about 300 thinning tubes in their steam generators replaced in 2009 and 2010.
Earlier the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had reported wear in unit 3 appeared to have been caused by vibration and tubes rubbing against each other. The cause of thinning at unit 2, though, initially appeared to be different.
In a Southern California Edison release Wednesday quoted by the L.A. Times, the utility said minor tube wear was found in unit 2 "similar to the type of wear that was seen in unit 3, but at a very low level."
The company has pressure tested the steam generators and has been plugging faulty tubes while a special NRC inspection team scrutinizes their efforts. NRC chairman Gregory B. Jaczko even toured the plant last week.
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