As Socal Nuke Plant Demolition Begins, Disaster May Be Looming (tags)
As the San Onofre nuke plant's demolition begins, watchdogs warn disaster may be looming.
8 Years After Shutdown, Socal San Onofre Nuke Plant Still Causing Big Problems (tags)
The SoCal San Onofre nuke plant shut down in 2012, but it's still causing big problems.
More Scandals Rock Southern California Nuke Plant San Onofre (tags)
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.
More problems at Shutdown San Onofre Nuke (tags)
Just when you thought there couldn't be more problems at the shutdown San Onofre nuclear plant, more arise
Insane Company Wants To Send Nuke Plant Waste To New Mexico (tags)
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.
Nuclear Shutdown News March 2018 (tags)
The San Onofre nuclear power plant in SoCal shut down in 2012. But it's still causing a lot of trouble.
Nuclear Shutdown News November 2017 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working for a nuclear free world. Here is our November 2017 report:
Nuclear Shutdown News May 2017 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our May 2017 report:
Nuke Shutdown News 3/17 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world. Here's our March 2017 report:
Nuclear Shutdown News July 2016 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free future. Here is out June 2016 report.
Nuclear Shutdown News June 2016 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry at home and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those who are fighting to create a nuclear free future, Here is our June 2016 edition.
Nuclear Shutdown News May 2016 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the US nuclear power industry at home and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those who are fighting to create a nuclear free future. Here is our May issue:
Is Jerry Brown Involved in the San Onofre Nuclear Plant Shutdown Scandal? (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the US nuclear power industry in this country and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free world.
Nuclear Shutdown News January 2016 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the US nuclear power industry, and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free future.
Nuclear Shutdown News September 2015 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry, both in the US and worldwide, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to create a nuclear free future.
NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN NEWS—APRIL 2015 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the continuing decline of the US nuclear power industry, and highlights the efforts of those who are creating a better energy future. Here’s the April edition:
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SHUTDOWNS 2013 (tags)
Announcements of US nuclear power plant permanent shutdowns in 2013 came seemingly in a flurry.Crystal River in Florida on February 13. Kewaunee in Wisconsin on May 4. San Onofre in Southern California on June 13. And Vermont Yankee in the Green Mountain State on August 27.
SAN ONOFRE: ANATOMY OF A NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN (tags)
How the San Onofre nuclear power plant shut down, and why
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to close permanently (tags)
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station will close permanently, Southern California Edison announced today. The Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and other environmental groups have opposed restarting the leaking plant.
While NRC Contemplates San Onofre Restart, New Study Shows No Nukes = Less Cancer (tags)
While the NRC is contemplating restart of the San Onofre nuke plant in the Southland, a new study shows that cancer cases in Norcal declined after a nuke shutdown there.
Fukushima, San Onofre and Our Health (tags)
It has been two years since Fukushima’s multiple meltdowns. . San Onofre nuclear power plant in the Southland has been shut down for over a year. Time to look back and gaze forward. This article will concentrate on nuclear power plants’ radioactive emissions and their effects on our health.
San Onofre doesn't have to become our Fukushima (tags)
What went wrong at San Onofre last January is a classic tale of the abuse of power. San Onofre should be decommissioned (dismantled). It should never be allowed to restart.
San Onofre Layoffs: Latest Sign of Nuke Plant’s Demise (tags)
The announcement of the impending layoff of one third of the San Onofre nuclear plant's workforce is yet another indication of the demise of this troublesome nuke.
"A Hell of a Way to Boil Water": (tags)
Veteran anti-nuclear activist Ace Hoffman came to San Diego from his home in north San Diego County February 20 to talk about the dangers of nuclear power plants in general and two nuclear power plants in particular: the Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactor which melted down after last year's tsunami and the ones at San Onofre in southern California. The event was held in part to promote a march and rally at the San Onofre site March 11, the first-year anniversary of the Fukushima tsunami.
No Nukes Monday, March 28 in LA (tags)
No Nuke's around LA--and a way to respond now.
'This is a test' all morning on Orange County, CA televisions (tags)
All day today, the Emergency Broadcast System has been doing it's test in Orange County. The test mumbles something about San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant.