San Onofre Nuclear Plant, on the coast of California, is busy building a nuclear waste dump for 1,600 tons of spent fuel on a bluff overlooking the Pacific which presents significant risks to our ocean and surrounding communities.
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on the San Diego County coast, about 60 miles south of Los Angeles.
Image Credit: songscommunity.com
Stop the Beachfront Burial of Nuclear Waste
Most California residents are not aware that SCE (Southern California Edison) has obtained a California Coastal Commission permit to bury 75 canisters of deadly nuclear waste on the beach in December of 2017. The 3.6 million pounds of high-level nuclear waste will be buried 108 feet from the high tide at San Onofre State Beach Park.
Each of the thin-walled canisters is about 20 feet high and 5 feet wide and can weigh up to 125,000 pounds. The plutonium inside the cans is lethal to human life for 250,000 years.
SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP THE BEACHFRONT BURIAL OF NUCLEAR WASTE
Please share this video, and and join Public Watchdogs for a consciousness-raising event on November 18th, 2017 in Laguna Beach.
More Info: San Onofre Safety and Public Watchdogs
Basic Objective from San Clemente Green: Delay the date for silos on the beach to get loaded with extremely radioactive waste.
This allows time to consider better alternatives that make us safer while deadly waste remains here cooling off for perhaps decades before it can be moved. We must deal with the fact that they are using canisters that can’t be monitored to prevent leaks, can’t be repaired and by regulation, are not allowed to be moved because they can’t be inspected inside or out to see if they are in transportable condition. We believe there must be a better plan. We could possibly shorten the time for removal and save money if we avoid using a storage system that just needs to be replaced later.
Court Settlement to “move the nuclear waste” has failed
Prior to the questionable “settlement to move the waste” Edison had planned to bury the waste on the beach in 2018. Yet shortly after the settlement was announced, SCE accelerated its burial schedule from 2018 to December of 2017. Once the waste is buried on the beach it will stay there forever. We want the waste stored at a safer location in more durable thick-walled containers.
The settlement affirms the Coastal Commission Permit, which allows Edison to bury the waste on the beach for at least twenty years.
A leaked Edison presentation reveals that the corporation has no way of inspecting its nuclear waste canisters for damages that could result in deadly radioactive leaks and mass evacuations.
A specific alternative location has not been identified, which was the premise and the implied promise of the original negotiations. Nothing has changed. Under the terms of the settlement, Edison is required to look at two possible alternative locations.
MORE INFO: Disposal of nuclear waste: think Camp Pendleton – San Diego Reader
Most U.S. nuclear power facilities store highly radioactive waste in thin-walled canisters (mostly 1/2-inch thick) that both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of Energy (DOE) admit cannot be inspected (on the outside or inside), cannot be maintained, repaired, and can crack and leak in the short-term. Thicker-walled, safer, and more expensive canisters do exist, but unfortunately utilities and regulators have put profits before protection of public health. Cartoon by Jerry Collamer
The settlement relies on the false hope of an approved nuclear waste dump
The likelihood of an NRC-licensed DOE Offsite Storage Facility being approved and built in the next 20-years is near zero.
The California Coastal Commission’s mission statement promises to protect California’s coastal resources for “future generations” with “strong public participation,” but when it voted to issue its nuclear waste burial permit on October 6, 2015, the public was not adequately informed.
When the Coastal Commission voted in favor of the beachfront nuclear waste dump, it only gave a one-week notice of the public hearing on Edison’s application. Then they held the vote in Long Beach instead of locally, in San Diego or Orange County where the public could attend.
Secret lobbying by Southern California Edison: The Commissioners admitted on videotape that they had been secretly lobbied by Edison in advance in “ex parte” meetings where the public was not allowed to participate.
The Coastal Commission vote was unlawful. Edison sent out a press release announcing the California Coastal Commission’s unanimous vote one-hour before the Commission even voted for it publicly. This means the vote was taken secretly in advance, in violation of the law. Members of the public were still testifying when Edison sent out the press release announcing (i.e. predicting) the “unanimous” vote!
Edison claimed falsely, without public rebuttal or debate that the dump is “safe.” The Commission accepted these claims without conducting legitimate public hearings, or a proper public investigation.
The Coastal Commission accepted claims without seeking the opinions of qualified experts opposed to the plan
Improper Notice: Finally, the public was not provided adequate notification or time to properly rebut Edison or to explain why the burial of 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste, 108 feet from the beach and in substandard steel cans three feet above the water level in a tsunami and earthquake zone is a bad idea.
Saturday, Nov 18 in Laguna Beach: Concerned Citizens Rally for Nuclear Safety
A gathering of intentional citizens will commence non-denominational prayer and focused meditation on Saturday November 18th, 1:00pm at the Main Beach in Laguna Beach. The participants, who are committed to peaceful conscious activism through unity and solidarity, will raise awareness and gather signatures for an alternative solution to the imminent nuclear waste crisis threatening Southern California’s Coast.
H-T: Irene Montantes