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As Socal Nuke Plant Demolition Begins, Disaster May Be Looming
Michael Steinberg
2020-03-01 12:51 AM
As the San Onofre nuke plant's demolition begins, watchdogs warn disaster may be looming. (text/plain)
Los Angeles Youth Climate Strike
Robert Stuart Lowden
2019-09-25 6:03 PM
LA Youth Raise Their Voices For The Future (image/jpeg)
Los Angeles Youth Climate Strike
Robert Stuart Lowden
2019-09-25 5:43 PM
LA Youth Raise Their Voices For The Future (image/jpeg)
Los Angeles Youth School Strike For The World Climate Crises
Robert Stuart Lowden
2019-09-25 5:31 PM
LA Youth Raise Their Voices For The Future (image/jpeg)
Save the Amazon Demonstration
RP
2019-09-03 11:06 PM
Glendale's Americana shopping mall was the site of a demonstration reminding consumers about consequences of shopping decisions and our culture of ignorance. (image/jpeg)
California Has Its Faults
Michael Steinberg
2019-07-26 9:48 PM
Two big earthquakes in California shook up the nuclear power infrastructure as well. (text/plain)
How Will PG&E Vankruptcy Affect Nuke Plant Shutdown?
Michael Steinberg
2019-02-02 12:48 AM
PG&E's bankrupcy filing will, among other things, affect the scheduled shutdown of its Diablo Canyon nuclear plant on Central California's coast. But how? (text/plain)
Woolsey Fire: Worst News of 2018?
Michael Steinberg
2019-01-01 12:18 AM
Was SoCal's Woolsey fore the worst news of 2018 (text/plain)
Oppose Environmentally-Harmful Development
RP
2018-12-10 4:03 AM
L.A. County Board of Supervisors takes up this development on December 11, 2018. If you can't make the meeting, you can still write to the Supervisor of your district. (image/jpeg)
Oppose Environmentally-Harmful Development
RP
2018-12-10 3:58 AM
L.A. County Board of Supervisors takes up this development on December 11, 2018. If you can't make the meeting, you can still write to the Supervisor of your district. (image/jpeg)
More Scandals Rock Southern California Nuke Plant San Onofre
Michael Steinberg
2018-08-30 11:09 PM
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our August 2018 report.
More Scandals Rock San Onofre
The eighth month of the year saw additional scandals erupt at Southern California's San Onofre nuclear plant, which has been shut down since 2013.
Another potentially catastrophic accident occurred, a previously unknown whistleblower spoke out, and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is sending a special inspection team to try to sort out this whole mess.
San Onofre's majority owner Southern California Edison shut the plant down prematurely after a scandal involving corporate mismanagement that caused a radioactive leak, and environmentalists exposed the utility's rush to restart the plant at the expense of the public's health and safety.
Since the permanent shutdown Edison has begun what's called decommissioning, meaning dismantlement and decontamination of the nuclear plant .A key task in this process is dealing with the nuclear waste left over . This is called spent nuclear fuel, stored in San Onofre's nuclear reactors as well as in pools where it must be constantly cooled or else there could be a serious accident, in the worst case leading to a meltdown.
This highly radioactive waste remains lethal to all life for a very long time. The federal government was supposed to take responsibility for for the megatons of spent nuclear fuel (3.55 million tons in San Onofre's case) for the whole nation by 1980, but still hasn't .
Edison chose to do the job by having the spent fuel removed from the plant and transferred to what is called dry storage, in canisters that are then buried on site for who knows how long. To carry out this task Edison hired Holtec International of Camden, New Jersey. Work began this past February, then stopped--but for only 10 days--after a cask lost a part while being lowered into the burial site in March.
The burial site is only 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean, protected by just a 28 foot seawall.
August Is the Cruellist Month--So Far
On August 10th the San Diego Union Tribune reported on "an incident" during which another spent fuel cask had become stuck on August 4th while being maneuvered down to the bottom of the nuke dump. Specifically, the cask was wedged 18 feet above the bottom, and remained there for "45 minutes to an hour" according to the NRC.
The next day, August 4th, a whistleblower revealed himself at a public meeting about San Onofre's decommissioning, the same U-T article reported. He identified himself as David Fritch, and said he was employed with the federal Occupational and Safety Administration (OSHA) and had been working at San Onofre for three months.
Fritch said he attended the meeting "to see if any of Edison's reps would discuss the 8-3 incident," but when none did he decided to report that the canister in question "could have fallen 18 feet."
In a followup Union Tribune report on August 24th Fritch alleged that only "about a quarter inch" wedge prevented the canister from falling before it was finally repositioned and safely lowered.
In the earlier U-T report Fritch also said some workers with Holtec "are undertrained" and many experienced supervisors are often sent away and replaced by new supervisors "who don't understand it as well."
The 8-24 Union Tribune report said an NRC inspection team "will send a team to evaluate the incident, will come on September 10 and spend a week."
The incident "confirms every fear we've had about what's going on at San Onofre and what measurges they're taking to ensure the public's safety," Charles Langley of theSan Diego Public Watchdogs told the the Union Tribune on August 10. He also expressed concerns that the spent fuel casks are not thick enough and could crack.
In light of all the above, Edison put the cask transfer operations "on pause."
Source: San Diego Union Tribune, uniontribune.com
Holtec's Master Plan
Given Holtec's troublesome performance at San Onofre, you might think the company would be curtailing its activities in other places.
Unfortunately this is not the case. Earlier this year Nuclear Shutdown News detailed its plan to build a nuke dump in Arizona for the nation's spent fuel still sitting around the increasing number of shutting down and already closed nuclear plants. An application to do so has been filed with the NRC. The most likely means of transporting the high level radioactive waste would likely be by rail.
But Holtec has also been removing spent fuel from shutdown nukes and storing it on site, most recently at Vermont Yankee, which closed in 2014.
Holtec appears to be privatizing the job of dealing with the nuke industry's high level radioactive waste and turning it into its own growth industry , after the job was abdicated by the federal government since 1980, as noted above.
On August 1 Utility Drive reported a new Holtec scheme to turn a profit this way in its article "Holtec to buy three nuclear plants, greatly accelerate decommissioning."
The three nuclear plants, all shutting down in the near future, are Oyster Creek in New Jersey, Pilgrim in Massachusetts, and Palisades in Michigan.
Holtec and its partner Comprehensive Decommissioning International, said they would dismantle and decontaminate the three nuke plants in eight years, though they have up to 60 years to do so. The same plan applies to Vermont Yankee.
In that state the Conservation Law Foundation warned, "In the rush to secure a possible--and by no means certain--quick cleanup of the site, the settlement excludes reasonable protection for Vermont communities.
The Utility Drive report did not explain why Holtec is buying the three nukes, or for how much,
But a report by WBUR radio in Boston on August 2 said that in the Pilgrim deal "Holtec will get $1 billion paid by Massachusetts ratepayers into a decommissioning trust fund."
Sources: Utility Drive, utility drive.com; WBUR, wbur.org.
During August more Scandals Rocked the Southern California nuclear plant San Onofre, resulting in an upcoming federal investigation.
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Setback for Developer of SC Farm Land
RP
2018-08-12 11:09 PM
Judge: Environmental Impact Report of PIMA warehouses must be revisited. (image/png)
More problems at Shutdown San Onofre Nuke
Michael Steinberg
2018-07-29 10:40 PM
Just when you thought there couldn't be more problems at the shutdown San Onofre nuclear plant, more arise (text/plain)
Insane Company Wants To Send Nuke Plant Waste To New Mexico
Michael Steinberg
2018-04-29 11:47 PM
A radioactive waste company, Holtec, wants to send all the nation's high level radwaste, stuff like plutonium, from shut down nuclear plants, to New Mexico. (text/plain)
California Safe Schools Honors 11 Year Old Daniel Randall
California Safe Schools idVer:d8aec6095105432
2016-04-25 9:25 PM
5th Grade Student Named 2016 Environmental Health Hero (image/jpeg)
Porter Ranch methane leak doesn't bode well for climate
Hilary Lewis
2015-12-22 4:53 AM
Porter Ranch methane leak poses serious risk for climate. New infrared footage exposes the extent of the leak. (video/mpeg)
“Got Drought?” public art project about the California Drought unveiled on billboards thr
Karen Fiorito
2015-12-17 6:22 PM
Los Angeles based artists Karen Fiorito and Alex Arinsberg take their artwork to the streets to educate the public about climate change. (image/jpeg)
Public art project aspires to save California
Karen Fiorito
2015-11-18 11:42 PM
Got Drought? billboard project and social media campaign debuts in Los Angeles this month. (image/jpeg + 1 comment)
NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN NEWS MAY 2015
Michael Steinberg
2015-06-04 7:48 PM
NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN NEWS CHRONICLES THE CONTINUING DECLINE OF THE US NUCLEAR INDUSTRY. US NUKE PLANTS WERE DESIGNED TO OPERATE FOR 40 YEARS… AS MANY OF THEM HAVE APPROACHED OR SURPASSED THAT MARK, THEY HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY UNSAFE AND INEFFICIENT, THREATENING OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY. THIS REPORT POINTS OUT SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS AND SUPPORTS THOSE WORKING FOR A NUCLEAR FREE FUTURE. HERE’S OUR MAY 2015 ISSUE. (text/plain)
Los Angeles Uranium Film Festival
Marcia Gomes de Oliveira
2015-06-04 2:18 PM
The Brazilian born International Uranium Film Festival is a global festival dedicated to films about all aspects of nuclear power like uranium mining, nuclear power plants, atomic bombs, radioactive accidents, uranium weapons and atomic waste: Now we want to bring this unique atomic film festival to LA. (image/jpeg + 1 comment)
How can california deal with this water crisis?
4 years of drought
2015-05-31 8:46 PM
After 4 years of drought, California is asking what can be done? The answers are coming from an unlikely source (text/plain)
Californians Shame Regulators For Teaching Big Oil How To Skirt Law and Pollute Our Water
Los Angeles Peoples Media idVer:9e0b596165e83
2015-03-26 12:28 AM
What the frack?! On Tuesday, March 24th, the state of California held an "Aquifer Exemption Workshop" to show oil industry representatives how to exploit loopholes for drilling and disposal projects to obtain aquifer exemption approval. Concerned water drinkers interrupted the state-sponsored workshop on how to get away with poisoning our drinking water. #DontFrackCA (image/jpeg)
FEDS ALLOW LAWSUIT TO SHUT DOWN DIABLO CANYON TO PROCEED
Michael Steinberg
2015-02-28 4:18 AM
On February 20 a Federal Court of Appeals in Washington DC rejected an attempt by Pacific Gas & Electric and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to quash a lawsuit filed by environmental group Friends Of the Earth (FOE). (text/plain)
The Electrical Divide: car charger deserts
nobody
2014-12-23 8:37 PM
There's inequality in access to electric vehicles, not based on price, but on access to electrical infrastructure. (image/jpeg)
KIDS REPLANT WILSHIRE FRUIT TREES UPROOTED BY VANDALS
Marc Cota-Robles
2014-07-16 9:34 PM
Dozens of fruit trees planted in the Westlake District by children have been uprooted. Kids worked to replant them Wednesday. (text/plain)
Google Venice, CA Offices Vandalized
Thomas Pynchon
2014-05-15 9:06 PM
"She's got the world locked inside a plastic box."
-Jim Morrison (text/plain + 1 comment)
Van Nuys Nuys Neighborhood Council Continues to Support Residents
T&T Communications
2014-04-28 4:43 PM
MORE THAN 500 SUPPORTERS URGE CITY TO FIND ALTERNATE SITE FOR FIRE STATION 39 (text/plain)
GLOBAL DAY of ACTION for the Indonesian Rainforests!
Greenpeace Orange County
2014-03-27 10:06 PM
Greenpeace Orange County will hold a funeral procession in solidarity with the Global Day of Action for the Forests on Sat., March 29th, 2014 at 11:30am, meet @ Macy's entrance, South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. Wear ALL black. (text/plain)
California Drought: Is this the big one?
Alex Smith
2014-03-05 12:28 AM
RADIO ECOSHOCK SPECIAL ON CALIFORNIA DROUGHT Despite recent rains, California's reservoirs are near empty, snow-pack light, and groundwater depleted. Four experts on a drought that really started in 2006, impacts on economy, food, farming, and nature.Dr. Peter Gleick, Dr. Jay Famiglietti, David Schroeder, Dr. Reagan Waskom (text/plain)
California Safe Schools Celebrates Pearl August Humanitarian Award Recipients
California Safe Schools
2014-01-30 12:56 PM
California Safe Schools Environmental Health Summit & 15th Anniversary
Honors Humanitarians & Environmental
Victories (image/jpeg)
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