"Concern over the safety of the San Onofre nuclear power plant is growing among Orange County cities closest to the facility, which has been shut down since January because of system failures."

"Officials in nearby San Clemente and Laguna Beach — both within 20 miles of the San Onofre facility — have registered their fears after significant wear was found on hundreds of tubes carrying radioactive water inside the plant's generators.

Residents in the Orange County beach towns for years have lived with the twin-domed nuclear plant as a backdrop. In San Clemente, which falls within the plant's 10-mile evacuation zone, city-issued potassium iodide tablets and siren drills have become a fact of life.

But with scenes of the nuclear disaster in Japan fresh in people's minds, the recent closure has raised consciousness about nuclear issues and prompted critics to double down on their disapproval."

Rick Rojas reports for the Los Angeles Times March 30, 2012. [2]