#CSDSO II Directions & Live Stream

The Community Symposium on Decommissioning San Onofre 2, with Dr Tom English, advisor to President Jimmy Carter on high-level nuclear waste and Joe Moross head Nuclear tech at Safecast, 3- 5:30 PM in San Clemente, free and open to the public, if you would like to attend remotely CLICK HERE FOR LIVESTREAM! 

#CSDSO II Real facts about what’s in the “cans” and what could come out of them.

#SaveTrestles; Thick Casks Not Thin Cans; Hot Cell Onsite For Damaged Can Repair & Real Time Public Third Party Radiation Monitoring #CSDSO

To Attend #CSDSO II In Person CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS
 Address: 1201 Puerta Del Sol, San Clemente, CA 92673

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Community Symposium On Decommissioning San Onofre II

2nd Nuclear Waste Symposium/Radiation Monitoring

ROSE, invites you to attend our upcoming 2nd event on Nuclear Waste with Tom English and Joe Moross. Real facts about what’s in the “cans” and what could come out of them. There will also be a discussion about Independent Real-Time Radiation Monitoring at San Onofre Nuclear Waste site with Joe Moross from Safecast on Oct 18, 2018, at 1201 Puerta Del Sol Suite 100 San Clemente, California 92673, 3 to 5:30 pm.  We will also discuss the higher radiation readings Darin and I got on our last visit to San Onofre Nuclear Waste site.

We plan to stay on these two topics because of the time factor. Also, we want to have lots of time for a real back and forth discussion on both topics, so bring your questions. They will be answered with the best information we have.

SCE was invited to participate in this symposium, but they declined because they do not want to come out and speak in public until sometime in November when the NRC will hold a meeting with their findings from the September 10 inspection. Joe Moross from Safecast is only here until late October which is why we are going ahead with this symposium.

Sincerely,

Gene Stone
Residents Organized For a Safe Environment (ROSE)
On twitter @gene_stone
http://residentsorganizedforasafeenvironment.wordpress.com/

Watch The 1st Community Symposium On Decommissioning San Onofre Streamed Oct 19, 2013 
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What Needs To Be Done For San Onofre Safety

Instead of protecting our safety Southern California Edison’s plan appears to be to hide radiation leaks and hide the fact they are out of compliance with their Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license. See Condition 8 of License, page 3 (ML16341B080). This handout with more details (No Plan for Cracking Cans) was presented to Southern California Edison at the August 9th, 2018 Community Engagement Panel meeting.

For More Critical Independant SONGS information please visit https://sanonofresafety.org/

& Thank you Donna Gilmore for all of your investigational activities into the debacle that is the San Onofre Nuclear Waste Dump.

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Sounding The Alarm: San Onofre Nuclear Waste Storage

SHOWING UP IS ALSO NOT THAT COMPLICATED! 

  • Who: Citizens concerned about nuclear waste safety at San Onofre
  • What: Edison’s quarterly Community Engagement Panel (CEP) Meeting – San Onofre
  • When: Wed, June 27, 2018 4:30pm – Meeting starts at 5:30pm
  • Where: Casino San Clemente, 140 West Avenida Pico, San Clemente, CA 92672
  • Why: Shocking revelations – Edison has no method in place to repair or replace defective canisters of nuclear waste. (they think it will take a few years to figure that out…) 

Background on Nuclear Waste issues at San Onofre, just south of the world famous Trestles spot in San Clemente California AKA SURFING USA!
:
In Feb 2018, Edison began the year and a half long process of loading 73 more canisters of nuclear waste into the beachside concrete storage silo at San Onofre, adding to the 51 loaded canisters that have been on-site starting in 2003.

Public criticism ranges from outrage to disbelief as people realize the location of the nuclear waste storage is 100’ from the ocean, inches above the water-table, in an earthquake-tsunami zone, a few hundred yards from the I-5 freeway and Railroad, and…. on one of southern California’s most iconic beaches.

Details about the thin-walled canisters being used to contain the deadly radioactive waste cause even more alarm.  Ongoing Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) studies show that these canisters are susceptible to corrosion which can lead to cracking.  Loaded canisters cannot be inspected for cracks.  And, as the President of Holtec, the manufacturer of the canisters, stated at a previous CEP meeting, even a microscopic through-wall crack will release millions of curies of radionuclides into the environment. https://youtu.be/euaFZt0YPi4 

With each welded-shut 5/8” thick (thin) stainless steel canister containing roughly the radioactive equivalent of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, critics aptly refer to the loaded canisters as Chernobyl Cans.

Recent Shocking Revelations:
At the March 2018 CEP meeting, in his update on the nuclear waste loading process, Tom Palmisano, Edison’s Chief Nuclear Officer, stated that a defective canister was discovered.  Workers found loose bolts in the bottom of an empty canister. The bolts hold the internal fuel basket structure in place, and allow passive helium flow inside the canister.  This air flow is critical for cooling the thermally hot and highly radioactive waste.  According to Palmisano, Holtec changed the interior design without notifying Edison or the NRC.  Palmisano stated that all remaining canisters with the defective design were returned to Holtec, and loading resumed using canisters with the original ‘bolt-less’ design.

But what about the four – already loaded – defective canisters?
When asked if the four defective canisters will be unloaded, and reloaded into canisters with the original ‘bolt-less’ design, Palmisano explained that the technology does not currently exist to unload the waste from the canisters back into the spent fuel pools.  He also mentioned this has been a known problem for years.  https://youtu.be/mjgna2atn7Y.   see video of entire March 2018 CEP meeting –
https://www.songscommunity.com/community-engagement/meetings/community-engagement-panel-meeting

AS YOU READ THIS LINE TODAY Edison has no method to repair or replace the defective canisters.  LET THAT SINK IN FOR A MOMENT!!! NO PLAN B IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG!

At this next CEP meeting, in response to Edison’s inability to unload / reload canisters, Palmisano will presumably repeat what he has already stated at a number of CEP meetings, that defective or leaking canisters will be stored inside transport casks (like Russian dolls).  But transport casks have not been approved by the NRC for storage of defective or leaking canisters. Transport casks were not designed for storing these extremely hot canisters.

Public awareness of Edison’s poor choice of both the storage canisters and the beach-side storage site is growing.   At this point, people are particularly concerned about the 51 canisters (Chernobyl Cans) that could already have significant corrosion and cracking.

We are calling for Edison to build a Hot Cell, and reload the fuel waste into proven Thick-wall Casks (10″ to 19.75″ thick).  A Hot Cell is a helium-filled, robotically-operated facility, and it is the only other NRC approved method to unload canisters.

Thick-wall Casks, unlike the Thin-wall Cans, can be inspected, maintained and monitored to PREVENT major radioactive releases into the environment.  Thick-wall Casks withstood the Fukushima disaster.

Further implications of recent revelations:its not just our backyard.

These problems with the canisters at San Onofre apply to numerous sites across the country where over 2400 loaded thin-walled canisters are currently stored.

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board December 2017 report to Congress states
spent nuclear fuel and its containment must be retrievable, maintained and monitored to prevent hydrogen gas explosions in both short and long term storage and transport. Edison has clearly indicated this cannot be done with the on-site spent fuel pools.
NWTRB DOE Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel December 2017
http://www.nwtrb.gov/docs/default-source/reports/nwtrb-mngmntanddisposal-dec2017-508a.pdf?sfvrsn=12

Edison’s NRC license requires the ability to unload canisters back into the pool.  It appears Edison is out of compliance with their NRC San Onofre dry storage licenses.  RESCIND THOSE LICENSES!

Edison needs to build a Hot Cell (asap) to address the
Chernobyl Can – Ticking Time Bombs – at San Onofre.

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San Onofre Hot Cell Demolition Video 2007

San Onofre Hot Cell Demolition Video 2007
Plan B RIP OCT 2007

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Test Area North (TAN) hot shop (hot cell) was destroyed in 2007. It was the only hot cell identified large enough for unloading San Onofre’s thin cans. The MPR Associates white paper “SONGS Used Fuel Management – Defense in Depth” (September 2017), page 20, incredulously states it is feasible to use this TAN hot shop (hot cell) for San Onofre’s thin cans. Their reference for this claim (Reference #21) actually states the opposite — it states the TAN facility was demolished in 2007. Viability of Existing INL Facilities for Dry Storage Cask Handling, USDOE Report, INL/EXT-13-29035, April 2013, Page v, Executive Summary. This appears to be a significant criminal comprehension error with the MPR authors.

Edison knew the TAN Hot Cell facility was demolished, yet did not catch this major error in the MPR San Onofre report. Closure of the TAN facility was discussed at the California Public Utilities Commission San Onofre decommissioning proceeding during August 2015 evidentiary hearings.

Every permit since 2007 needs to be rescinded, 

for the criminal lie that anyone ever had a “Plan B”


Let’s Start With A NEW Plan B. 

On Site Hot Cell 
Thick Casks
Real Time Radiation Monitoring 


Click Here To Become A Stakeholder 

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FACTS On San Onofre For Surfrider Members

Call Surfrider Today! (949) 492-8170 Southern California Edison’s (SCE) has not included many important facts in their responses to Surfrider Foundations questions regarding the nuke dump at San Onofre See “FACTS” below SCE’s responses.  A Printable PDF Version of this post is found at SanOnofreSafety.org. 

Timeline Inquiries & Comments (Julia Chunn‐Heer, San Diego Policy Manager)

1) Has the timeline for starting the movement into dry storage changed, or is it still slated to start in Dec 2017/Jan 2018?

SCE Response: No, the timeline has not changed. Fuel transfer from wet to dry storage could start as early as December 2017 following on‐site NRC reviews.

FACTS ON SAN ONOFRE THAT ALL SURFRIDER MEMBERS SHOULD KNOW:

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Storing Nuclear Waste At San Onofre: It’s Only Complicated If You Are Confused About The Issues

The Shortboard "Thin Can"  VS Longboard "Thick Cask" Debate


Storing nuclear waste at San Onofre: it’s only complicated if you can’t tell the difference between a shortboard and a longboard, and where each should be paddled out.


The Shortboard “Thin Can” VS Longboard “Thick Cask” Debate


A “cask” is the thick radwaste metal container (10 to 19 inches thick).  The “canister” OR “can” is like the ½ to ⅝  of an inch steel cans at San Onofre. Think of a can as a shortboard, and a cask as a longboard.


Or let me put it to you this way so as to be perfectly clear.

YOU DON’T WANT NUCLEAR WASTE STORED IN THIN CANS ON THE BEACH AT SANO!

A “canister” OR “can” is like the ½ to ⅝  of an inch steel cans Edison has a permit for at San Onofre. A “cask” is a thick radwaste metal container up to 19 inches thick, this is an important distinction to make if we want to discuss safety at San Onofre from a factual point of view.


The Nuke Waste At Sano
The Issues From A Factual Point Of View


  1. This waste is onsite now, 3,600,000lbs of it.
  2. This waste has nowhere to go in the foreseeable future
  3. Edison has chosen thin walled cans over thick walled casks to store this radwaste, the NRC expects the waste to be here for 300 years.
  4. Each can would hold as much radiation as was released from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, each can is only warrantied for 20 years.
  5. Edison promises these “Chernobyl Cans” won’t leak. Do you forget the 40 year rating of the replacement steam generators? They lasted less than one year before leaking radiation, Edison lied about that radiation leak into our community for days after the event.
  6. Each can would have no internal monitoring.
  7. A can would have no “defense in depth” or “multiple layers of failure”
  8. Cans crack from exposure to salt air and engine exhaust
  9. There is no approved way to test or repair cracks in these cans.
  10. A cracked can, can have no seismic rating and cannot be transported
  11. Each can would be on the beach, straddling an earthquake fault, in a tsunami zone,
  12. Surrounded by millions of people, and thousands of surfers.
  13. Why are you still reading this? Toss these cans in the trash.


Rescind the Coastal permit for this badly planned nuke dump on the beach at San Onofre.

Demand Thick Walled Metal Casks, Not Cans
Make anything purchased for San Onofre Nuclear Waste match the location that we find ourselves in, using the best thick-wall cask technology available in the world.  Let this become the standard of waste management.

Safety should be our only concern.  

UPDATE the April 14th 2PM  hearing has been CANCELLED.


Superior Court Central Courthouse, Dept C68
220 W Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
Google Maps Link https://goo.gl/maps/V9szQGEb9Sr

Storing Nuclear Waste At San Onofre: It’s only complicated if you are confused about the issues and don’t want to think about the facts. #SaveTrestles our very own #StandingRock

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NUCLEAR WASTE ACTION ALERT

NUCLEAR WASTE ACTION ALERT:
By Jerry Collamer

Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and San Onofre High Level Nuke Dump are encouraging environmental activists to organize their members to visit/contact all of their state and federal elected officials to demand they take action on our nation’s critical nuclear waste issues,  “what and where to put America’s growing stockpiles of waste?” Many of us working on this think that now is the time for a big push. With 14 nuke plants decommissioning and more to come soon we cannot wait any longer for strong action to be taken. Let’s get organized across the country!

We all know that in the beginning of the nuclear madness, it was promised that in 40 years the solution to nuclear waste would be figured out by the time it was needed. This did not come true, it has not been figured out. Instead, in August 2014 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission turned all NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS into NUCLEAR WASTE DUMPS for a minimum of 200 years. US taxpayers over these past years have now subsidized the nuclear industry with over 14 trillion dollars. Also, the Department of Energy is paying these nuclear plants MILLIONS OF DOLLARS MORE EACH YEAR TO STORE THEIR NUCLEAR WASTE ONSITE IN YOUR BACKYARD! WE MUST STOP MAKING MORE NUCLEAR WASTE NOW.  We also know that it is no longer satisfactory to let our elected officials keep kicking this nuclear canister down the road. We must demand action from our government and the nuclear industry to find the solutions that are needed, and our anti-nuclear activists must have a seat at this table. Our generation of activists cannot be the one that lets this INACTION continue for another 200 years! Yes, of course,I know some of us have been working on this for years, but few have been listening to us, but now the “times they are a changin.” More people are now listening to us and WE MUST ACT NOW!
Listen to former chairperson of the NRC, Allison MacFarlane’s talk at the June 22nd CEP meeting. This nuclear waste information is very important if you want to get the DOE and the government moving on the waste issue. Video 1, start the video at 1:55:30 to hear the entire talk at: http://www.songscommunity.com/cep-events/062216_event.asp
Please take action by using this link to contact your elected officials:
Please take action by using the links below to contact your elected officials:

House of Representative http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

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Nuke Dump Outlet Mall San Clemente

 Nothing says Welcome To Town like a Nuke Dump and an Outlet Mall.

Nuke Dump Outlet Mall San Clemente
No Nuke Dump At San Onofre #SaveTrestles



It’s a beautiful day in San Clemente, California, and you are here, discovering treasure, never mind the 3,600,000 lbs of high grade nuclear waste a few miles south. So Cal Edison would like to bury it in the sand, a few feet from the ocean in thin steal canisters that can crack thru in our lifetime. They will tell you they have no way to test for these cracks, or even have a way to fix them. If something were to go wrong there real time radiation monitoring of the nuclear dump at San Onofre is not avalable to you. With Edisions past track record of first denying and then admitting there was a radiation release beg for more transparency? With radiation you can’t see it, you can’t smell it and we may never know, wink, if it affects its neighbors, read you and me, thanks to the Nuclear Regulatory Commision cancelling the cancer study.

Traffic along the I-5 has been a nightmare with the widening of the freeway, and since La Pata, the only other potential way out of town, is not completed, someone thought it would be a good idea to have the Outlet at San Clemente Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony today at 10:30!

Now the good news, the nuke dump is in the planning stages, if you live in California you want to support candidates that will fight the notion that a nuke dump at Trestles is somehow a good idea. If they think that this is not a problem they need to be replaced before that sign is set in stone. 

When Radiation Isn’t the Real Risk http://t.co/vsQN7EfWyo

— Tim Brown (@timthebrown) September 22, 2015

The real risk is apathy. No Nuke Dump At San Onofre. #SaveTrestles 

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San Onofre Cancer Study Cancelled?

#NRC cancels health study around nuclear plants, including #SanOnofre – The Orange County Register http://t.co/QhVMFNKlRv

— AA Clearinghouse (@AAClearinghouse) September 18, 2015

San Onofre Operators Exposed on #NBC: Massive Contamination at Pristine Beach http://t.co/TcxQu7J2dB #nonukes #climate #security #sec #law

— Cecalli Helper (@Cecalli_Helper) September 22, 2015

Report: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station very very sloppy, very very careless in handling radioactive material.

The most common wind direction for most of the year was North (Orange County) except in the spring (April-June) when it was to the south (San Diego County).

In 2012, there were 29 incidents of effluent monitoring instruments being out of service for more than 30 days. In 2013 there were 22 such incidents.

It is interesting to examine NRC documents on batch releases after the reactors were shut down (Jan., 2012) compared to when they were in full operation.  There were 3 batch releases of gaseous effluents in when Units 2 and 3 were in operation in 2011 (total 44.2 hours).  In 2012 (after it was shut down) there were 6 such releases totaling 43.1 hours.

Liquid radioactive batch releases in 2011 totaled 518 hours at 740,000 gal per minute.  In 2012 after operation ceased, releases went on for 335 hours at 612,000 gal per minute.

The NRC claims that it cannot afford the $8 million to carry out the cancer study proposed by the National Academy of Sciences.  For 2016, the NRC has requested $1.032  billion of which 90% will be paid for by the nuclear industry it is supposed to be regulating.  The NRC spends $25 million/year on travel expenses.  In 2015, the nuclear industry gave the NRC $43 million for “outreach” and “policy support.”  

Ask your local representative to tell the NRC, 
BRING BACK THE CANCER STUDY! 
&
“NO effluent releases at any time in cases of effluent monitoring instrument failure”


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THE POWER TO CHANGE

“If the ideas that rule our culture are stopping us from saving ourselves, then it is within our power to change those ideas.”  Naomi Klein

We humans are adept at fighting for what we are against.  Can we fight as hard for what we are for?  Socrates reminds us “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
Many people, including ninety seven percent of climate scientists, agree that climate warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities.  Some of the results of global warming, according to “Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet” are: global sea levels are rising, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass and the thickness of the Arctic Sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world.  The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed in the upper layer of the oceans is increasing by approximately 2 billion tons per year.  James Hansen, adjunct professor of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, believes that carbon pollution is set to end the era of stable climate.
SfS (4)

Solar for Seals project 2014
With these facts pointing to the devastation of life on Earth as we know it, what actions are we willing to take to assure the continuation of life on our beautiful planet?  We must join together now to do what we can do to make the necessary changes to reverse these trends.  Human beings have the capacity to learn and adapt quickly.  We are able to change old thinking and patterns of behavior and create change in positive ways.  There are political and economic forces that sometimes stand in the way of progress, but we do not have to allow these forces to prevent us from doing what we must.  Many individuals are moving forward with ideas to save our planet and creating supportive communities to make effective change.
One of the ways to avert this climate change crisis is to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.  To this end, it is possible to switch to renewable energy.  People all over the world are creating wind farms, working with tidal power, wave power, solar power, hydroelectricity, and geothermal power.  Our organization, Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar (PES) of San Clemente, CA. have successfully completed two solar projects: Oso Lake Boy Scout Camp Solar project, 2013 and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center Laguna Beach “Solar for Seals”, 2014.  ROSE and PES are currently working on a third solar project, “Solar for Non Profits” project for 2015.  We are committed to bringing people together in a community effort to provide solar power to non -profit organizations.  These organizations are already helping our social and environmental communities in various ways.  By assisting them with conversion to solar power, this adds another layer of depth to their commitment to bettering our world.
Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar (PES) have selected The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley (CSLCV) in San Clemente, CA. for our 3rd Solar Project 2015.  A 60 kW system consisting of 197 solar panels to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy will be built for the Center’s facility. As PES and ROSE and CSLCV donate our time and labor for this project, please join us in taking this environmental action as a citizen of the world. Be a part of the solution for our world’s clean and renewable energy future by donating today. The total cost of this project will be $135,000.00. The money the Center saves on energy costs will go to community projects. Your donation to this solar project will be greatly appreciated.
To help us, please use our Razoo fundraising site at:  https://www.razoo.com/story/Center-For-Spiritual-Living-Capistrano-Valley for your “tax deductible” donation.
“We are all flowers in the Great Spirit’s garden. We share a common root, and the root is Mother Earth.” Hopi Prophecy For.A. n
“The environment isn’t over here. The environment isn’t over there. You are the environment.” Chief Oren Lyons
It will take all of us working together now if we are to make a positive change for future generations.
Love, Gene and Joyce
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ROSE and Planet Earth Solar 3rd Solar project 2015. Join with us.

Hello everyone,

Thinking back, we have not forgotten your kind help with our 2014 “Solar for Seals”size_550x415_CSLCV.SOLAR.VIZ project for Pacific Marine Mammal Center of Laguna Beach where we put 87 solar panels on their small roof.  It went so well we looked for a much bigger roof for 2015, and we found it.
We are happy to announce that Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar has selected The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley (CSLCV) in San Clemente, CA. for our 3rd Solar Project 2015.  A 60 kW system consisting of 197 solar panels to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy will be built for the Center’s facility. As Planet Earth Solar and ROSE and CSLCV donate our time and labor for this project, please join us in taking this environmental action as a citizen of the world. Be a part of the solution for our world’s clean and renewable energy future by donating today. The total cost of this project will be $135,000.00, saving the Center over $150,000.00 over other bids. You may donate to this Solar project in one of two ways.
1. Make your “tax deductible” check payable to “Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley” please mail check to Gene Stone 1203 Via Presa San Clemente 92672, so I can make sure to get your check into the Solar account at the center. Please note in the bottom left memo area of your check “Rose Solar project.” The check payment method will insure that 100% of your donation will go to the solar project, using the fundraising site we will lose 5% of your donation to Razoo.
2. Or use our Razoo funding raising site at for you “tax deductible” donation:
The Center’s Environmental statement:
“The Centers for Spiritual Living are committed to our vision of a world that works for everyone– a world in which resources are valued, cared for, and grown, and where there is generous and continuous sharing of these resources. A big part of that world is sustainable safe energy. At the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley in San Clemente California, we are contributing to this vision by installing a solar system to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy for our Center’s facility. We know that other spiritually minded people and organizations will want join us in taking this action for the betterment of all future generations. Not only will this new solar energy system provide our Center with safe sustainable energy, the cost savings recognized by lower energy bills will allow the Center to pursue numerous projects that will benefit our community.”
P.S. Please remember that it was this Center in San Clemente that gave ROSE such a great deal and made it so easy to do the Nuclear Symposium in October 2013.  They are willing and excited to help us with future events. We could not have done it with them.
The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley in San Clemente California, Planet Earth Solar and Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) thank you for your kind and generous donation towards our solar project.
With your action today, you join us in being part of a clean energy future and take a step towards helping manage climate change.  You are now part of the growing number of people around the world who are “being” the change. We are honored and happy to walk down this path with you.
Sincerely,
Gene Stone
Residents Organized For a Safe Environment (ROSE)
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ACTION ALERT Request San Onofre Agenda Items Be Moved To Newport Beach Coastal Commision Meeting

Request to move San Onofre agenda items to Newport Beach meeting
SAVE TRESTLES! 

The California Coastal Commission meeting on changing the San Onofre spent fuel pool cooling system is still scheduled for Santa Barbara on May 14th.

Please request the Coastal Commission to change it to the Newport Beach meeting. 
The Coastal Commission needs to hear from more of you.  
They are getting pressure from Edison to speed up yet another experiment in nuclear waste dump managment.

Send request for meeting change to joseph.street@coastal.ca.gov

Subject:  Request to move Southern California Edison San Onofre agenda items to Newport Beach meeting

These waivers are for major changes to the San Onofre spent fuel cooling systems, air cooling systems and the ocean discharge systems. These are very significant issues.

Please move the decision on the Southern California Edison Coastal Development Permit Waivers (9-15-0417-W and 9-15-0162-W) from the May 14 Santa Barbara meeting to the June Newport Beach meeting.

It will take over 4 hours to drive to Santa Barbara from San Diego and over 3 hours from South Orange county.  Given the length of time and starting time of the meeting, this is an undue hardship for the people most impacted by these decisions. There doesn’t appear to be any significant reason or legal deadline to justify this hardship.

The Coastal Commission website states:
The Commission meets once a month in different locations of the State in order to facilitate public participation. Staff attempts, whenever possible, to schedule matters for hearings that will be relatively close to the location of a proposed development. However, legal deadlines for action may require that the hearing on an item take place in a different area than the proposed project.

We don’t know which day in June the waivers will be addressed. They do not list them on the agenda.  I do know they will be under the section labeled as:

ENERGY, OCEAN RESOURCES and FEDERAL CONSISTENCY.

Report by the Deputy Director on permit waivers, emergency permits, immaterial amendments & extensions, negative determinations, matters not requiring public hearings, and status report on offshore oil & gas exploration & development. For specific information contact the Commission’s Energy, Ocean Resources, and Federal Consistency Division office at (415) 904-5240.

Even if you don’t plan to speak at the meeting, we need you to show up or at least write for the delay of the meeting.  The Coastal Commission is our friend, but not if we don’t express an interest.

Here’s the link to meeting rules.
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html#meetingRules

It doesn’t appear the chillers Edison proposes are “nuclear grade chillers”.  The Coastal Commission was told they are “commercial grade chillers”.  And as usual, the NRC is not doing their job. They don’t plan to inspect until after the new systems are installed, so we cannot count of them to even review this new method of cooling spent fuel pools filled with hot fuel that can boil the water out, if the pools are not kept cool. 

Using water chillers to cool spent pools appears to be another Edison experiment. In fact, We have found only one that used chillers and it had fuel that didn’t need cooling.  Edison told the Coastal Commission that “chillers are commonly used in commercial industries” and that “spent fuel pool islands” have been used at nuclear plants.  However, these misleading statements don’t mean that chillers are used for spent fuel pool island cooling.  We have asked both the NRC and Edison to provide me a list of nuclear spent fuel pools cooled with chillers. We do not have a response from either of them, even though we have requested this at the last CEP meeting.  We’ve followed up with Edison via email, but do not have a response yet.  

Here’s a document that talks about methods of cooling spent fuel pools as well as how to save water use at nuclear plants.  It does not list water chillers for cooling spent fuel pools, even for decommissioned plants.  It even has information about Diablo Canyon and Palo Verde cooling systems and water use.

IAEA Technical Reports: Efficient Water Management in Water Cooled Reactors, No. NP-T-2.6, November 5, 2012
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Join The San Onofre Cancer Study

Join The San Onofre Cancer Study
Calling All San Onofre Surfers
          While many of us have been busy focusing on the host of problems we face because of San Onofre,  there is one very important issue we are neglecting: the immanent pending decision of the NRC on whether to fund the Natioinal Academy of Sciences (NAS) cancer streak study in this area.  The NAS sent their Phase 2 proposal to the NRC back in January and the NRC is dragging its feet on whether to approve it.  Many think that the NRC does not want this study done because of the possibility of revealing that the radioactive releases Edison has been doing into the ocean and into our atmosphere for the last half century may have a significant toll on our health.

          The NAS study will focus particularly on women and children who are the most vulnerable.  If you have lived within 31 miles (50 km) of the plant and had children since the 1980s, you will be part of the study.  As you know, nuclear power plants are known emitters of beta and gamma radiation which can easily penetrate your home and your body and rearrange cell DNA which might result in cancer after years or decades of exposure.

          There is Congressional oversight on this,  but the NRC has played down this investigation and more public pressure is needed to get this study funded.  Even though San Onofre is “closed,” we know that considerable emissions will continue to take place during the coming decades of decommissioning.  They will continue to be discharging up to 36 radionuclides into the giant 18 ft pipes into the ocean (at a rate up to a million gallons per minutes with some discharges lasting 25 hours).  Since 1990, the NRC has relied totally on an old and now discredited study by the National Cancer Institute which performed a heavily flawed study that failed to find a cancer effect.  The NRC and the nuclear industry like this study and they routinely (and mistakenly) say it proves that radiation is harmless to people living near NPP.

          There are two key people in Congress who are actively concerned about this. They are in a position to put pressure on the NRC to fund the study.  They are our own Sen. Boxer and Massachusetts Senator Markey.  Please write to both of them, perhaps both a written letter and an email (and call them).  It is not necessary to sound like a nuclear physicist and cite the details.  Just express your concern as a resident, and ask them to please contact the NRC and help get this study funded.

Many thanks!
Roger Johnson

Senator Barbara Boxer
312 N. Spring St., Suite #1748
Los Angeles, CA  90012    213-894-5000
 
Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510    202-224-3553
 
Senator Edward Markey
255 Dirksen Senate Office Building   
Washington, D.C. 20510  202-224-2742
 
Senator Edward Markey
975 JFK Federal Building
15 New Sudbury Street
Boston, MA 02203   Phone: 617-565-8519
Also copy:    sarah_butler@markey.senate.gov and Michal_Freedhoff@market.senate.gov (she is a director of policy)
 
Link to Analysis of Cancer Risks Among Populations Near Nuclear Facilities Jan. 2015:
 
 

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What are you doing for your Mother on EARTH DAY 2015?

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates  

Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth‘s natural environment. Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970. While this first Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations.It is celebrated in more than 175 countries.” Wikipedia reference
Just as we humans need to protect, nurture, and feed ourselves, we can offer to the planet, our Mother Earth, respect, protection, and nurturance. “Given the present rate of planetary pollution and destruction, we need to negotiate a detente with nature and ourselves.” Paul Hawken. There are many positive actions taking place all over the world. For instance, there are over six thousand different women’s groups in Africa planting trees and four thousand organizations in North America have adopted a river, creek, or stream. Organic agriculture is the fastest growing sector of farming in North America, Japan, Mexico and Europe. There are three thousand organizations that educate farmers, customers and legislators about sustainable and biological agriculture. The world is now understanding the need to move away from the dirty carbon based energies of the past 150 years into the clean and renewable energy future. Solar, wind and wave energy technologies are just a few of the bright stars this future will be based on.

Our indigenous first peoples of the Americas have given the long held wisdom that we should always be thinking of the next seven generations to come in our interactions with Mother Earth. It is said that we do not own the earth, we borrow it from our children. Many of us are just now coming to understand that the earth is taking care of us and not the other way around. Our actions have far reaching effects and consequences on our planet, climate, oceans and air. Droughts, flooding, super storms, melting of the glaciers and the ice caps in the north and south poles are just some indications of severe climate change.

“Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst, help us to find the way to refresh your lands.
We pray for the power to refresh your lands.

Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution, help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.
We pray for your knowledge to find a way to cleanse the waters.

Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse, help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.
We pray for your strength to restore the beauty of your handiwork.

Great Spirit, whose great creatures are being destroyed, help us to find a way to replenish them.
We pray for your power to replenish the earth.

Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption, help us to find the way to restore our humanity.
We pray for the wisdom to find the way to restore our humanity.” UN Environmental Sabbath Program

It was our honor yesterday to help the Cub Scouts of troop 714 of San Clemente Las Palmas school to plant eight California Laurel Bay trees for their Earth Day celebration in their new camping area at Oso Lake. This was the first experience planting trees for this troop. They worked hard digging the holes, preparing the soil and placing the trees in the ground. As we worked together, we had the opportunity to share the value of planting trees and how this action helps the future of the planet. The scouts were amazed to learn that trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. As the work continued, their understanding of the cycle of life deepened. As we finished placing the last tree in the ground, a red tail hawk flew directly over our heads making her voice known to all of us. It was clear that this sign was a good one and the spirit of the hawk was saying thank you.

How can we help to make Earth Day everyday? Here are some ideas:

Plant trees
Conserve water
Walk or ride your bike to school or work
Use public transportation
Recycle
Compost
Make your home energy efficient

To learn more visit the websites below:

http://www.wattlesswednesday.org/

http://www.earthday.org/2015?gclid=Cj0KEQjwpM2pBRChsZCzm_CU0t4BEiQAxDVFmlR83yiKujlmwwxzuClFLM_WXxTekrzZFZDkx5nj7ScaAnXj8P8HAQ

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/save-earth-top-ten.htm

http://www.plant-for-the-planet-billiontreecampaign.org/

Remember, on Earth Day and everyday, we are all part of the earth.

Love, Joyce and Gene

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Possible dates for the next SCE/CEP meeting & workshop on Nuclear Waste may be Jan 27 or the 28

sanonofrecaskloadingintostoragebunkerA number of CEP members have expressed a strong interest in returning to the matter of long-term spent fuel storage early in 2015. We are fortunate to have been approached by the Washington DC-based Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) to organize a joint meeting with the CEP in January as part of an 18-month effort to generate action on the movement of used nuclear fuel in the U.S. With the short timeframe, we will need to finalize the event very quickly.
BPC is working on an initiative, “America’s Nuclear Future: Taking Action to Address Nuclear Waste,” to reinvigorate and expand the discussion on nuclear waste, identify barriers inhibiting progress on nuclear waste, and explore options to break through the barriers. The effort is being run by Tim Frazier who previously ran the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. I am mindful that a joint program with the BPC will be far more impactful than a program that we might endeavor to execute on our own.
Important to the BPC effort are regional meetings to identify and discuss the barriers to moving forward on nuclear waste and potential actions to remove the barriers. BPC has hosted meetings in the Northeast at MIT in June, in the Southeast at Georgia Tech in Atlanta in September, and in the Midwest in Chicago in November. A joint BPC/CEP meeting for Southern California is planned for the evening of Tuesday, 27 January, or Wednesday the 28th.
 Meeting Overview
Plans include two panel discussions. The intent is to present a range of viewpoints and panelists are to be announced. The first panel will focus on federal issues as facilitated by Tim Frazier. David Victor will chair a second panel discussion with a focus on San Onofre and state issues. The second panel discussion will include the full CEP, a facilitated public comment period, and serve as our Regular Meeting for 1Q 2015.
The doors are opening wider on our discussion of Nuclear Waste at San Onofre. Once again we have the opportunity to bring this topic forward on to the national stage. The question is will you join us? Only you can make your voice heard.
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Possible dates for the next SCE/CEP meeting & workshop on Nuclear Waste may be Jan 27 or 28

sanonofrecaskloadingintostoragebunkerA number of CEP members have expressed a strong interest in returning to the matter of long-term spent fuel storage early in 2015. We are fortunate to have been approached by the Washington DC-based Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) to organize a joint meeting with the CEP in January as part of an 18-month effort to generate action on the movement of used nuclear fuel in the U.S. With the short timeframe, we will need to finalize the event very quickly.
BPC is working on an initiative, “America’s Nuclear Future: Taking Action to Address Nuclear Waste,” to reinvigorate and expand the discussion on nuclear waste, identify barriers inhibiting progress on nuclear waste, and explore options to break through the barriers. The effort is being run by Tim Frazier who previously ran the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. I am mindful that a joint program with the BPC will be far more impactful than a program that we might endeavor to execute on our own.
Important to the BPC effort are regional meetings to identify and discuss the barriers to moving forward on nuclear waste and potential actions to remove the barriers. BPC has hosted meetings in the Northeast at MIT in June, in the Southeast at Georgia Tech in Atlanta in September, and in the Midwest in Chicago in November. A joint BPC/CEP meeting for Southern California is planned for the evening of Tuesday, 27 January, or Wednesday the 28th.
 Meeting Overview
Plans include two panel discussions. The intent is to present a range of viewpoints and panelists are to be announced. The first panel will focus on federal issues as facilitated by Tim Frazier. I will chair a second panel discussion with a focus on San Onofre and state issues. The second panel discussion will include the full CEP, a facilitated public comment period, and serve as our Regular Meeting for 1Q 2015.
The doors are opening wider on our discussion of Nuclear Waste at San Onofre. Once again we have the opportunity to bring this topic forward on to the national stage. The question is will you join us? Only you can make your voice heard.
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What’s up with the #SCECEP

SCECEP meetingIn my opinion, I’m very concerned about the way the SCE/CEP was set up and the direction the leadership of SCE/CEP is now taking us. Instead of taking the neutral position and uncovering and observing the evidence as presented they consistently and obviously put a positive spin on it. Everything is fine and SCE is doing the best job possible.
  1. We must ask ourselves does this repeated positive spin serve the public interest? In my opinion No.
  2. Is this Community Engagement Panel doing the best job possible to protect the safety of our communities and California? In my opinion we are not.
  3. Can or will the SCE/CEP make the changes necessary in its charter to become an effective and strong safety advocate for the decommissioning and safe storage of nuclear waste at San Onofre that the people of California deserve until such time as the DOE takes possession of this long-term problem? In my opinion that is still up in the air.
To this point SCE’s attempt to be inclusive and transparent clearly has it’s limits. While asking me and others to bring up the safety concerns of the local citizens, SCE and the SCE/CEP leadership has then glossed over them, seeing these concerns only to be checked off their list one by one. Example; Tim Brown told the CA Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee on Aug 12, 2014 that local concerns have be heard and addressed. Implying some sort of conclusion or satisfaction by all with SCE’s predestined decommissioning plan. Link for Senate hearing http://youtu.be/_q6YulhHpcU?t=1h2m9s starting time for Tim Brown 1:02:10 to 1:17:45. Nothing of course could be further from the truth for many in our local communities. SCE, Inclusiveness is not just a tool to be used on the “Yellow Brick Road to decommissioning”, we are not in the Land of Oz after all. We are however in the backyards of over 8.4 million Californians.   SCE and its CEP leadership now have a consistent record of spinning information to fit the SCE agenda. For example, regarding “defense in depth”, the chairman, after being concerned at first at the lack of defense in depth for dry cask long-term storage, concluded after his ‘”careful research”, that citizen activists had not asked about ” defense in depth” for waste storage before and that the nuclear industry and the NRC has done a poor job in defining  and getting the word out about “defense in depth” for nuclear waste and dry cask storage. Citing “defense in depth” as cladding on fuel rods, ceramics on the fuel pellets , even the 5/8″ thickness of the canister itself and concrete overpack of the casks as if these were “defense in depth” that were unspoken of in the past. And he was right they were not spoken of in the past as “defense in depth” because they were not considered nor should we consider them today as “defense in depth”. While these have some small measure of defense, they are not in anyway sufficient or adequate for long-term storage of nuclear waste within a heavily populated area like Southern California, and everyone in this nuclear industry knows the calculated risk they are betting on with California’s future.
David Victor’s report Safety of Long-term storage in casks: Issues For San Onofre Dec 9, 2014 does have some items we do agree on:  “It  is  likely  that  spent  fuel  will  be  stored  in  dry  casks  at  the  San  Onofre  nuclear   site  for  very  long  periods  of  time—most  likely  well  beyond  the  20-­‐year  period  for   initial  licensing  of  the  casks.” page 2 of report. “Some  elements  of  what  will  be  needed  for  “defense  in  depth”  are  not  yet  fully   in  existence—for  example,  actual  equipment  that  would  allow  removal  of  fuel  from   a  cask  without  an  onsite  pool  has  been  designed  and  a  prototype  was  demonstrated   in  the  1990s,  but  no  such  full  scale  commercial  system  currently  exists.  Similarly,   full-­‐blown  procedures  for  repairing  all  forms  of  cask  cracking  are  not  yet  fully   certified” page 4 of report. Other than these items there is not much here other than “pro nuclear industry spin.” Read full report at:https://docs.google.com/document/d/13DurWxC8l3l_VCNEGXz5bg0V4FJteepR7LVuUjPz4Xk/edit?usp=sharing

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A Little EcoShaming – Powerful Motivation

    

9631128185_41ba872f92_z
For years my wife and I put off that Solar Array for our roof.  We’d checked into it several times, but the cost always seemed too great to pull the trigger.  Then 3/11/11 brought massive destruction and unthinkable death and suffering for the people of Japan.  It was a wakeup call to me, seeing the Fukushima Daiichi plant in a state of complete disarray.  The earthquake and tsunami left them completely crippled and unable to stop hydrogen explosions in the containment, and unprecidented, three separate reactor core meltdowns.  I immediately started looking for how I could learn more about our local nuclear plant.  I found people who had been actively concerned about the safety of nuclear power for more than 35 years.  As I attended activism rallies and NRC meetings, there were a few voices who seemed to be a little off message at first.  That message was, “If you live in Southern California, and you don’t have solar on your rooftop, then you are part of the problem.  You need to get solar!”  As that sunk in over the next few months, I also was reflecting on the fact that shutting down our unsafe plant would create a new void in our local grid.  After all, one seemingly strong argument Southern California Edison kept making was, “Like it or not, you need our nuclear plant to keep your lights on.”  So 14 months after the Japanese disaster and following the surprise SCRAMming of San Onofre, an act that would eventually become a permanent shutdown, we switched on our 36 panel, 11.5 kW system for the first time.
How did we make the numbers work?  We’re lucky to be pretty well off, but very few of us have $35-$70,000 set aside for ecological feel good renovations.  The truth is, in addition to San Onofre activists encouraging us, there was a solar wave hitting our coast.  Our electric bill had been rising alarmingly for years, now accentuated with 4th tier penalty rates.  Having a koi pond and a swimming pool meant no amount of cutting back on air conditioning on our inland home in Fallbrook was putting a dent in our excessive $400/month bill.  The economy is still pretty weak, and an entire generation of children is asking the question, “What’s an interest rate on a savings account?”  I saw the immense rebates being offered that assured a 30% return on our investment, via a federal solar credit, plus $2500 from California.  Viewed from that perspective, solar was a great initial investment and also one we knew would keep paying us back.  Top it off with the knowledge that we’re now part of the climate change solution, rather than continuing to be part of the problem, and the EcoShaming that a few folks planted in my mind was now a blessing in disguise.  We withdrew a big portion of our rainy day money and took the plunge.
In two and a half years, we’ve generated 44 MegaWatt hours, an average of around 48kWh per day.  Last year, we replaced our original pool pump with a high efficiency variable speed run four times as long at 1/4 the flow rate, resulting in ~75% electric savings on that electric pig.  With that electricity freed up, and because we overbuilt our system as much as we could, we hope to buy an electric vehicle soon, and really start helping to solve climate change, and a whole host of other problems oil dependance has caused.  Notice we put the solar first and the EV car next, making sure that we don’t increase electricity demand from power companies who seem unable to ride the solar wave thus far.  Their loss.  It’s my dream that rooftop solar is adopted by every homeowner and every business nationwide.  Power companies will still be needed to maintain the grid.  They will also need to build and operate hydraulic pump storage to meet our nighttime power needs, including charging electric vehicles.  If you research it a little, you’ll see that pump-storage hydro is now excess power is stored for later usage the world over, even at Helms east of Fresno (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pumped-storage_hydroelectric_power_stations).  I hope our personal story might help encourage you, or someone you know, to ride the solar wave, perhaps with a productive bit of EcoShaming.  Now about that Diablo Canyon…
By Karl Aldinger
Fallbrook, CA
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Premature Failure of U.S. Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Canisters

In a nutshell all we are saying is that this process should be slowed down to ensure the best possible choice of dry cask canisters is made, spend the money wisely “once” to avert another steam generator type disaster and ensure the safety of California’s future. Gene Stone &  Donna Gilmore.

Premature Failure of U.S. Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Canisters
The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) should delay funding the new San Onofre dry cask storage system until Southern California Edison provides written substantiation that the major problems identified below are resolved. 
San Onofre’s Chief Nuclear Officer, Tom Palmisano, told the California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee on August 12th that Edison plans to decide in August or September on a dry cask system vendor. The dry casks systems Edison is considering may fail within 30 years or possibly sooner, based on information provided by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) technical staff. And there is no technology to adequately inspect canisters and no system in place to mitigate a failed canister.
Edison created an artificial date of June 2019 to have all the spent fuel assemblies loaded into canisters. We don’t need to rush into another “steam generator” like boondoggle.  Edison’s Tom Palmisano told the California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communication Committee on August 12th that issues regarding high burnup fuel and dry cask storage have been addressed. However, these issues have not been resolved.
Canisters may need to be replaced within 30-42 years or sooner. 
Recent information provided by the NRC technical staff indicates dry storage canisters may need to be replaced within 30-42 years or sooner, due to stress corrosion cracking of the thin (1/2 to 5/8 inch) stainless steel canisters (due to our coastal environment). Similar stainless steel materials at nuclear plants have failed within 16 to 33 years.  The concrete overpacks also have aging issues that are accelerated in coastal environments.                                          sanonofrecaskloadingintostoragebunker
Southern California Edison has budgeted $400 million dollars for the dry storage system. As Commissioner Florio stated after the recent CPUC meeting in Costa Mesa, “We don’t want to have to buy these again.”
No remediation plan to repair or replace failed canisters.
The NRC stated that if one of the canisters becomes defective (e.g. 75% through-wall stress corrosion cracks), there is no way to repair or replace the canister; especially if the spent fuel storage and transfer pools are demolished, as Edison plans to do. And before a canister can be transported (inside a transport cask), the canister must not have cracks.
No technology to adequately inspect canisters for stress corrosion cracking.
The NRC states technology does not exist to adequately inspect steel canisters for stress corrosion cracks or to measure how or when the cracks will go through the wall of the canister. They plan to allow the nuclear industry 5 years to try to develop technology. And then they only plan to require inspection of one canister at each nuclear plant.  
No license renewals until aging management issued addressed.
The NRC is in the process of developing an aging management plan due to the new requirement that dry storage systems need to last 100 to 300+ years. They are delaying license renewals until unresolved aging management issues can be addressed. However, they plan to allow the NUHOMS 32PTH2 canister that Edison may procure to be included in an existing license. The NRC is evaluating how long dry storage systems will last. Previously, they only needed to last 20+ years with the assumption there would be a permanent repository.
No canisters approved for high burnup fuel for more than the initial 20 years.
The NRC has not extended licenses past the initial 20 years for storage of high burnup fuel (>45GWd/MTU) due to unknowns about high burnup fuel in storage and transport. This fuel is over twice as radioactive and hotter than lower burnup fuel.  The NRC has allowed nuclear plants to burn fuel longer, without the research to show that it is safe in storage and transport. The protective fuel cladding can become brittle and crack; resulting is higher risk for radiation exposure, if the canisters fail.
NUHOMS dry canister license certification expires in less than nine years.
The NUHOMS DSC-32PTH2 canisters that Edison wants to procure are not yet licensed by the NRC. If approved, the license will expire in less than nine years (February 5, 2023), since Areva-TN decided to avoid a new license certification and include it in their existing license for the DSC-24PT series, which has a different design.
New design of the NUMHOMS DSC-32PTH2 eliminates failed fuel cans.  
Unlike the existing 24 fuel assembly canisters, the new 32 fuel assembly canisters have no provision for Failed Fuel Cans. This means damaged fuel assemblies (of which San Onofre has many) cannot be used in the DSC-32PTH2 canisters. The NRC and DOE require fuel assemblies to be retrievable so they can be transferred to other containers. The Failed Fuel Cans met this requirement.
Background
On July 14th, 15th and August 5th the NRC had public meetings to address aging management issues with dry cask storage system. Their goal is to require an aging management plan before relicensing or issuing new licenses, now that the NRC knows on-site or interim dry cask storage will be needed for up to 300 years or more. The NRC stated the earliest date for a permanent repository is 2048 and that is optimistic. They are researching on-site and interim dry cask storage requirements for 40,100, 150 and 300+ years. No NRC canisters are certified for extended storage or for geological repository storage. Canister licenses for the more dangerous and unstable high burnup (>45GWd/MTU) spent fuel have not been renewed for more than the initial 20 year license, even for expired licenses. And the NRC’s Bob Einziger states there are still transportation problems with high burnup fuel. NRC staff plan to have a draft for public comment regarding dry cask storage relicensing by the end of 2014, according to Mark Lombard, Director, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation. However, this will not address our current issues.
Stainless Steel Dry Canister Problems
Darrell Dunn, an NRC materials engineer, stated stainless steel dry storage canisters are vulnerable to failure within about 25 – 42 years. If any of the fuel cladding in the canister fails, there is no protective barrier and we could have a serious radiation release. The NRC said they have no current mitigation plan for that consequence.  They suggested we MIGHT be able to put the fuel back in the spent fuel pool.  However, Edison plans to destroy the spent fuel and transfer pools. And there is no technology to repair the canisters. The NRC said they HOPE there will be a solution for mitigation in the future. Even an NRC May 2nd High Burnup Fuel letter admits there are mitigation problems.
No Inspections of Stainless Steel Canisters
To make matters worse, these stainless steel canisters are not inspected after they are loaded into the unsealed concrete overpacks (Areva NUHOMS) or concrete casks (Holtec and NAC Magnastor).  The NRC proposed having each nuclear plant inspect the outside of only ONE stainless steel canister before they receive a license renewal and then do that once every 5 years.  The industry balked at having to even check one canister at every plant. The problem with the stainless steel canisters is they do not protect against gamma rays; so it’s not a simple task to remove a canister from the concrete overpack/cask to examine the exterior for corrosion or other degradation. And since welded canisters do not have monitoring for helium leaks, we may not have any warning of an impending radiation release. 
Concrete Overpack Corrosion Problems
Darrell Dunn discussed serious corrosion problems with the concrete overpacks/casks, especially in coastal environments.   
Ductile Cast Iron Casks may be a better solution
Asked if San Onofre would be better off using ductile cast iron casks like the CASTOR, due to our coastal environment, Aladar (Al) Csontos, NRC Branch Chief in the Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation (SFST), said that might be a better option near the ocean. Casks, such as CASTOR, may eventually have aging issues with bolts and seals. The CASTOR has double sealed lids, so even if one fails, we’ll still have a sealed canister. And Edison would be able to easily monitor for cask material degradation with all the casks.
The NRC licensed the CASTOR V/21 ductile cast iron cask years ago and the cask is still in use. In fact, a CASTOR V/21 was used to prove low burnup fuel is safe to store for over 15 years. However, none of the current U.S. cask designs have been tested even though they use a different storage technology.  The U.S. industry chose a different technology (stainless steel/concrete overpack/cask) mainly due to the cost of ductile cast iron at the time and with the assumption that the canisters would only be needed until Yucca Mountain opened. The CASTOR V/21 was considered the “Cadillac” of the industry and the CASTOR line is still very popular in other parts of the world for BOTH storage and transport (including high burnup fuel). The CASTOR canisters have multiple certifications for quality manufacturing, unlike the U.S. stainless steel canisters that are allowed exceptions to ASME and other standards. Material prices for stainless and cast iron have changed, so the price point should be lower.
The CASTOR has pressurized lid monitoring to detect helium leaks and temperature changes. The welded U.S. canisters do not have this capability, but the NRC and Department of Energy (DOE) state this is a high priority issue to resolve.
The inside of the CASTOR cask, including the sealing surface, has a nickel coating for corrosion protection. On the outside, the cask is protected by an epoxy resin coating in the fin area and nickel coating elsewhere.  And unlike the U.S. stainless steel canisters, it does not have stress corrosion cracking issues and does not require a concrete overpack/cask.
The original CASTOR V/21 is almost 15″ thick as opposed to the 1/2″ to 5/8″ stainless steel canisters.  The newer model CASTOR V/19 is almost 20″ thick. There are other ductile cast iron canister brands that are used in other countries. However, the U.S. emphasis on cost rather than longer term safety discourages competition from better quality casks vendors. With new U.S. needs for longer term onsite and interim dry cask storage, this should change.
Forged Steel Casks (AREVA TN Series)
Areva makes thick walled forged steel casks (TN series), which were approved for limited use years ago by the NRC. The TN cask is much thicker than the stainless steel canisters and doesn’t require a cement overpack/cask.  Its specifications are not as robust as the CASTOR, but better than the Areva NUHOMS system that Edison may procure.  Fukushima Daiichi and Germany use some TN casks. Germany mainly uses the CASTOR casks. 
Enclose Casks in Buildings
Both Japan and Germany enclose their casks in buildings for protection from the environment and other external forces. This is something Edison should consider.
Action Needed
No dry cask solution is even close to perfect, but we need to buy ourselves as much time as possible. Given the issues with stress corrosion cracking, concrete degradation, lack of monitoring, and lack of external inspection of stainless steel canisters, we can do better. Spent fuel pools are dangerous. However, the spent fuel needs to cool in the pools for a number of years, so we have time to do a better job selecting a dry cask storage system. Edison’s artificial deadline of June 2019 to have all canisters loaded should not be the driving factor for the future of California.
The NRC does not proactively research dry storage system designs. They only respond to vendor requests for licensing. Vendors will only do this if they think they have a customer lined up for their product. California needs to be that customer. 
Edison should reopen the bidding to include vendors with other cask technology. Edison’s Community Engagement Panel (CEP) had a presentation from Areva, but from no other dry cask storage vendors. Edison only solicited bids from three canister system manufacturers who all have the problems mentioned in this document. Edison requested the NRC approve the NUHOMS 32PTH2 design – it was not licensed when they decided to use it. That license amendment (Docket No. 72-1029, Certificate of Compliance No. 1029 Amendment No. 3) may be approved in August.  However, the CPUC should not approve funding for this canister system.
Edison has not shared with us the documents they used to solicit bids (Request for Proposal), so we have no idea what the requirements are in that bid package.  That would be useful information and the public should have access to this information.
If you have questions about sources for any information, contact Donna Gilmore. There are also detailed references on the SanOnofreSafety.org website.  A link to the NRC July and August presentations as well as other documents discussed here are on the following pages.
Donna Gilmore                                            
SanOnofreSafety.org                                  
949-204-7794, dgilmore@cox.net 
Gene Stone
Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE)                              
Member, SONGS Community Engagement Panel
949-233-7724, genston@sbcglobal.net
References
High Burnup Fuel
High Burnup Nuclear Fuel −Pushing the Safety Envelope, M. Resnikoff, D. Gilmore, Jan 2014  http://sanonofresafety.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/hbffactsheet01-09-2014.pdf
Response from Donna Gilmore to NRC regarding May 2, 2014 request for NRC high burnup fuel technical basis, June 25, 2014
NRC Presentations
NRC Meeting to Obtain Stakeholder Input on Potential Changes to Guidance for Renewal of Spent Fuel Dry Cask Storage System Licenses and Certificates of Compliance, July 14th/15th, 2014 (includes slide presentations)
Chloride-Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking Tests and Example Aging Management Program, Darrell S. Dunn, NRC/NMSS/SFST, Public Meeting with NEI on Chloride Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking Regulatory Issue Resolution Protocol, August 5, 2014
CASTOR Dry Casks (Ductile cast iron cask technology)
CASTOR V/21 NRC Certificate of Compliance and Safety Analysis Report, August 17, 1990   http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0330/ML033020117.pdf
CASTOR brochure (includes the CASTOR V/19 and other ductile cast iron casks).
GNS’ [CASTOR] experience in the long-term storage at dry interim storage facilities in Ahaus and Gorleben, IAEA Vienna, May 20, 2014  http://bit.ly/1jUSNOZ
Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Experience, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (GNS Castor V/21, Transnuclear TN-24P, Westinghouse MC-10, NAC S-100-C), 1987
BAM test results for CASTOR transport containers
Fracture Mechanics Based Design for Radioactive Material Transport Packagings, Historical Review, Sandia SAND98-0764 UC-804, April 1998http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/654001
GNS CASTOR Presentation, June 09-11, 2010, Varna, Bulgaria (slide 18: CASTOR V/19, V52)
Areva TN Series Casks (forged steel cask technology)
TN-24 NRC Certificate of Compliance and Safety Analysis Report, November 4, 1993
AREVA Innovation in the Design of the Used Fuel Storage System, CRIEPI Tokyo, November 15-17, 2010 (includes information on TN 24 casks)
AREVA Dual Purpose Casks in Operation, AREVA TN Experience, Vienna, May 19-21, 2014 http://bit.ly/1l9xO5R
NUHOMS 32PTH2 and San Onofre Decommissioning Plans
NRC Certificate of Compliance for Spent Fuel Storage Casks, COC 1029, Docket 72-1029, Amendment 3, Model No. Standardized Advanced NUHOMS®-24PT1, 24PT4, and 32PTH2,  expires 02/05/2023 (pending NRC approval as of 8/20/2014)
Comments on Direct Rule re List of Approved Storage Casks (79 Fed. Reg. 21,121 (April 15, 2014), Request for Rescission of the Direct Rule, and Request for Publication of a New and Revised Notice of  Proposed Rulemaking, Docket No. 13-0271, Diane Curran, on behalf of 20 environmental organizations and individuals.
February 10, 2012 letter from Edison to NRC: Support for NRC Review of Transnuclear Inc. Application for Amendment 3 to the Standardized Advanced NUHOMS® Certificate of Compliance No. 1029, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 2 and 3 and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Docket Nos. 50-36, 50-362 and 72041
Update on Decommissioning Plans, Tom Palmisano, Vice President & Chief Nuclear Officer, August 12, 2014 presentation to CA Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, Chairman Alex Padilla
Community Engagement Panel Correspondence
High Burnup Fuel and Dry Cask Storage Issues, July 17, 2014 letter to CEP Chairman David Victor from Donna Gilmore, San Onofre Safety
David Victor testimony to NRC Commissioners, July 15, 2014
Additional references at SanOnofreSafety.org
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2 ACTION ALERTS NEED YOUR COMMENTS!

1st ACTION ITEM;

Please write to all the NRC Commissioners in support of the Chairperson MacFarlane idea to update the NRC Regs in a effort to make it clear for all Plant owners and the public on the decommissioning process for nuclear plants and the handling of “HBF” (high burn fuel). Please ask the Commissioners to have the NRC open a old cask with HBF in it to check on condition of this highly dangerous fuel and the cask condition.

Here are the email address:
Chairman@nrc.gov
CMRSVINICKI@nrc.gov
CMRMAGWOOD@nrc.gov
CMROSTENDORFF@nrc.gov

2nd ACTION ITEM;

THE EPA WOULD LIKE YOUR COMMENTS! DEADLINE AUGUST 3rd.
Both proponents and opponents of nuclear power expect the
Environmental Protection Agency in coming months to relax its rules
restricting radiation emissions from reactors and other nuclear
facilities. EPA officials say they have no such intention, but they
are willing to reconsider the method they use to limit public
exposure—and the public’s level of risk. Comment by August 3, 2014.
The EPA is seeking public input here http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0689-0001 upper right corner “comment now”.

Thanks for your activism.

Sincerely,

Gene Stone, ROSE

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Recommendations for temporary storage of Nuclear Waste at San Onofre


How long will SONGS be a Nuclear Waste Dump? That answer is unclear at best. But for sure it will be here longer than anyone wants. So it will be safest and cheapest to store it right the first time! SCE and NRC love’s to say the risks are small, but they don’t like to tell us how BIG a nuclear waste accident can be. Anyone remember Chernobyl and Fukushima?

ROSE advocates relocation of nuclear waste as soon as is feasible from the SONGS site to a less populated area and a less earthquake prone area. Temporary or permanent, although a permanent situation is preferred.

1. Storage of dry cask of any type should be within it’s own building to protect them from the salt air at San Onofre as some other countries do .
2. The best canister we have seen is the V-19 German canister. (The V-19 and 21 canisters are an example of a better made product for our site at San Onofre. It was not meant to be a recommendation to buy, just the type of construction method we may want to look at.)
3. There should be a fuel pool with crane on site to mitigate any accident with any of the dry casks.
4. There should be some type of pressure or radiation monitoring of cask in real time which the V-19 canister has.
5. NRC needs to update it’s procedures to include inspections of decommissioned cask storage areas on a regular and timely basis.
6. DOE needs to set a firm date as to when they will takeover SONGS nuclear waste and exactly how they will do that.

Donna Gilmore talking about dry cask storage for San Onofre Nuclear (Waste) Generating Station 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLr0WR5oSjU

By Gene Stone

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Notes from David G. Victor SCE/CEP Chairman

Here are two important notes from David G. Victor SCE/CEP chairman.  Reading these carefully will give you insight into David’s understanding and misconceptions of how Southern California should proceed with the decommissioning of SONGS and it’s new life as a Nuclear Waste Dump, and how in the world to work with the NRC.

Overall in my opinion he is starting to get the complexities in decommissioning a Nuke Plant with 8,4 million people within a 50 mile radius and the lack of real direction and oversight by the NRC.
To read these note click on the links below.
Burden
By Gene Stone, ROSE

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Fukushima To San Onofre Sunseting On Nuclear Power

Public Meeting on San Onofre — Public can speak out about PUC Dysfunction and Sky High Power Rates

Hundreds of secret documents in PUC San Onofre files may halt settlement

Opponents “GAGGED” at San Onofre Public Meeting but PUC Allows Hours of Private Meetings With Utilities

The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) announced a public meeting regarding the San Onofre proposed settlement, Monday, June 16, 2014, at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92627, 4pm to 7pm. The public is invited to present their views and ask questions

Opponents to the settlement will also hold a press conference at 3:30pm in the patio of the center just prior to the main event, which is considered the kick off to the “World Cup of Bailouts.”

Some members of the public have said the CPUC is a “Kangaroo Court” and there are rumors that wild kangaroos will invade the meeting.

The settlement was negotiated by Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric SDG&E) in secret meetings starting in May 2013, with one outside party, TURN (The Utility Reform Network) and one CPUC internal party, the Office of Ratepayer Advocacy (ORA). The final settlement was first revealed to the public and to other parties on March 27, 2014, with the stipulation that it could not be modified in any way.

It provides that SCE receive $3.3 billion for the crippled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). Proponents have sold this as a $1.4 billion “refund” but in reality, that figure is simply the difference from the original absurd utility request of $4.7 billion and the proposed settlement figure.

Opponents believe ratepayers should receive refund checks of about $250 million.

“The difference in the two sides is stark. The utilities and their followers want ratepayers to provide the net asset value of the base plant PLUS a return of 2.65%, a situation unheard of, even in the distorted world of public utilities,” said Ray Lutz, National Coordinator of Citizens Oversight, representing the Coalition to Decommission San Onofre (CDSO) a leading opponent to the bailout settlement. “It is clear that the Commission had this rigged from the beginning, as the meat of the investigation was delayed so long while they fiddled with inconsequential issues.”

“The Commission has likely jumped to a conclusion to support the unfair settlement, without allowing the proceedings to complete, and that’s why rumors are circulating that wild kangaroos may be invading the meeting,” said Charles Langley, a San Diego Gas & Electric ratepayer.

In response to a recent Public Records Request, the CPUC revealed hundreds of secret documents provided to the Commission by technical consultants and never provided to other parties. “It is highly improper to collect all this data and share with the utilities but not with the other parties in the proceeding,” said Michael Aguirre, who represents Ruth Henricks, a party in the CPUC San Onofre investigation. “Technical consultants have apparently been working for the Commission and with Commission lawyers for months, generating this treasure trove of secret documents that will likely kill the settlement on the spot. This looks like a way to set up a back-channel with utilities to allow the settlement to be discussed.” The consultants were slated to be used for the Phase 3 investigation, which never was started.

The PUC’s pattern of stifling public participation is troubling. Last week a Court issued a decision to stop ratepayers from going to Superior Court to prevent closed door meetings in violation of the Bagley Keene Open Meeting Act.  Ratepayer advocate, Maria Severson, has called on state legislators to draft a bill that ensures the PUC – like every other state agency – has no closed door meetings and complies with the Public Records Act, and if they try to shut the door to the public, the ratepayers can go to Superior Court to stop them.  These “Sunshine” and “Open Meeting” Laws are not being obeyed by the Commission. Last month, PUC President Michael Peevey, a former Southern California  Edison officer, weighed in on the public’s right to participate in PUC proceedings. His position articulated on the attached five-second mp3 recording.

An extremely brief evidentiary hearing was held on May 14, 2014 in CPUC headquarters in San Francisco. At that meeting, SCE President Ron Litzinger admitted to Aguirre’s questions that there was nothing in the record that would allow the Commission to evaluate whether the settlement adequately addressed ratepayer’s claims.

Now, a public participation meeting is being held to allow the parties to make statements and to allow the public to ask questions. “We had to struggle to get equal time,” Lutz said. “But now they are trying to control what we can say as well.”

At first, they gave opponents no time at all. Then, proponents 40 minutes and opponents only 20 minutes. When the CDSO said they planned to make a Powerpoint presentation and needed more time, perhaps 30 minutes, the ALJ implemented a ‘gag’ order, disallowing a powerpoint presentation, and requiring all documents to be pre-approved by the ALJs (Administative Law Judges) before it could be presented.

ALJ Melanie Darling said “No projectors, power points, or other argumentative aids will be permitted inside the meeting.” and refused to provide a webcast of the meeting.

In response, the CDSO reasserted their request for 30 minutes during the meeting, with the following email, sent to all parties, bringing up the fact that the proponents of the settlement have already met with the Commission in ex parte meetings, including a personal meeting with Florio, the primary Commissioner of the proceeding, for more than two hours.

Dear ALJ Darling:

On April 14, 2014, Southern California Edison and other proponents (SDG&E, TURN, ORA, FOE) of the proposed settlement met in a number of private ex parte meetings. The notice of these meetings is attached. These parties met for 45 minutes with representatives for Commissioner Peevey, 30 minutes with advisors to Commissioner Picker, 30 minutes with advisors to, and with Commissioner Florio, and 30 minutes with Advisors to Commissioner Peterman. During these meetings, they presented their point of view to Commissioner Florio and advisors of the other Commissioners.

There were also other ex parte meetings with the Commission by the proponents of the settlement.

According to the rules of practice and procedure (8.2 and 8.3), such meetings are allowed in ratemaking proceedings with advisors to Commissioners without prior notice. Prior notice was provided for the meeting with Commissioner Florio. This is a ratemaking proceeding. Also, including in those rules, other parties are allowed to request equal time in similar ex parte meetings.

The CDSO hereby makes such a request. We request that we be allowed time at this public meeting to make our presentation to those commissioners and advisors who are present at the meeting. We will not be constrained in what we choose to present to the commissioners. We plan to bring a power point projector and screen so we may effectively communicate our position, since I’m sure the proponents were not constrained in their private presentations, and we will be distributing any material we see fit during our presentation to the Commissioners.

I hereby reassert our request for 30 minutes during this meeting for the opponents to the settlement to use as they see fit.

Respectfully,
–Raymond Lutz 

“We have yet to hear back from ALJ Darling, but we are going to assert our rights to make our case as strongly as we can, even though it’s clear that this regulatory agency is fully captured by the utilities,” Lutz said. 

CONTACT:  Ray Lutz    619-820-5321  / raylutz at citizensoversight dot org

EVENT 1: Orange County Press Conference
WHERE:   Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92627
WHEN:     (just prior to the public meeting at 4pm)

EVENT 2: CPUC Public Meeting
WHERE:   Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92627
WHEN:     4-7 pm, Monday, June 16, 2014
NOTE:       Rumors are that wild kangaroos will be invading this “kangaroo court”

Fukushima To San Onofre Sunseting On Nuclear Power
Fukushima To San Onofre Sunseting On Nuclear Power
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Sen. Boxer Reads SCE’s Request for EXEMPTION from ALL Off Site Evacuation Plans at SONGS!

Senator Boxer reads SCE’s Request to be EXEMPT from ALL Offsite Evacuation Plans at San Onofre to NRC Chairman McFarlane! The NRC received the request March 30, 2014 but has yet to review it. The exemption includes: NO Alarms, No Warning Sirens, NO Ev…

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San Onofre Priorities: On-Site Safety, Off-Site Storage

San Onofre Priorities: On-Site Safety, Off-Site Storage

June 7 marks the first anniversary of Southern California Edison’s decision to permanently close the troubled San Onofre nuclear plant near San Clemente. Gene Stone of Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) summed it up this way: “We are safer – but we are not yet safe.”
There are two crucial matters: the quality of storage technology on-site at San Onofre, and the prospects for long-term storage at a remote site.
The accuracy of Stone’s words was confirmed at a May 6 workshop on managing nuclear fuel waste. Tom Palmisano, senior nuclear officer for Edison, reported that cooling pools at San Onofre currently hold 2668 spent fuel assemblies including 1115 “high burn-up,” a fuel type that is hotter both thermally and radioactively than conventional fuel.
Spent fuel from Unit 1 is already in dry casks holding 24 assemblies each. Removal of Unit 2 and Unit 3 fuel from pools will require 100 more 32-unit casks. This will triple the footprint of the concrete storage structure, from today’s 200 x 400 feet to an ultimate 400 x 600 feet.
Experts are unanimous that fuel pool hazards are far greater than dry cask storage and the intent is to complete transfer in 5 to 7 years. At that point the focus shifts to long-term safety of casks.
A lively debate at the May 6 workshop pitted Marvin Resnikoff of Radioactive Waste Management Associates against Michael McMahon from cask manufacturer AREVA and Drew Barto, lead on spent fuel storage and transportation for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Resnikoff reviewed the performance hazards and risks in cask safety for long-term on-site storage and off-site transport. McMahon and Barto countered with advances in design technology that they say provide a robust and secure storage system even for high burn-up fuel. Through this exchange of sharply differing views, the workshop added value by throwing the spotlight on key technical issues in specific ways that can be debated to a point of resolution. Nuclear safety advocates will be watching the outcome closely.
The other major contribution of the workshop was to confirm a striking degree of unanimity regarding the need to revitalize the process for locating and developing sites for long-term remote storage. Gains in on-site safety promised by technology advances did not diminish the consensus that spent fuel waste should be removed from San Onofre at the earlier possible opportunity.
In part this reflects the unusually exposed nature of the San Onofre site. But sentiment runs deeper. Per Peterson, a member of the NRC’s Blue Ribbon Commission, expressed a feeling little short of dismay at the national failure to identify and develop remote storage. Edison said it is committed to this outcome as the fully satisfactory solution. Members of the expert panel as well as the Citizens Engagement Panel (CEP) that hosted the event made it clear that indefinite on-site storage remains unacceptable.
Message to the NRC: San Onofre may be the test case where all parties are urging a better way than the grotesque and inappropriate land-use outcome of constructing a nuclear waste mausoleum at San Onofre or at any other closed nuclear plant.
Dr. David Victor of UC San Diego chairs the CEP, which organized the workshop. He summed up the discussion this way: “We have an obligation to make the long-term storage of fuel as safe as possible and practical. We need a strategy for federal action on consolidated storage and ultimate repositories. Toward that end, we should articulate what we as a community need—and carry through with the Governor and Congress to assure they give priority to what is most important.”
Enter Senator Barbara Boxer and colleagues Sanders and Markey. On May 16 they introduced Senate bills S. 2324, 2325 and 2326, which would:
• Require the NRC to cease its current practice of issuing exemptions to emergency response and security requirements for spent fuel at closed nuclear reactors, unless all fuel storage at the site is in dry casks.
• Ensure that host states and communities have a meaningful role in shaping decommissioning plans for retired nuclear plants.
• Require for the first time that the NRC to explicitly and publicly approve or reject each proposed decommissioning plan.
• Ensure operator compliance with the NRC requirement that spent nuclear fuel be removed from pools and placed into dry cask storage within 7 years after the decommissioning plan is submitted to the NRC.
• Provide funding to help reactor licensees implement plans for decommissioning nuclear plants.
• Expand the emergency planning zone for non-compliant reactor operators to 50 miles.
The Boxer-Sanders-Markey bills are classic legislative oversight. They close safety-related loopholes and provide a more accountable and participatory process for affected area residents.
These sensible steps do not in themselves deal with on-site storage design technology or remote site development. But they are in the spirit of comprehensive nuclear waste management, which remains one of America’s largest environmental challenges.
By Gleen Pascall
Sierra Club
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San Onofre Evacuated While Testing Sirens In San Clemente #SCECEP

Is Siren Testing During A Nuke Plant Evacuation A Good Idea?
Is Siren Testing During A Nuke Plant Evacuation A Good Idea?  
About a dozen non-essential employees have been evacuated from #SanOnofre as a precaution in response to a brush fire near #CampPendleton.
— SCE_SONGS (@SCE_SONGS) May 14, 2014

SONGS is conducting routine siren maintenance in #SanClemente on 5/14 and 5/15. Growl sound may be heard. No action needs to be taken.
— SCE_SONGS (@SCE_SONGS) May 14, 2014

The above tweets were posted by the official twitter account for SONGS as the San Onofre Nuke Dump was being evacuated during our recent wildfires here in San Clemente.  In my discussions with other nearby San Clemente Residents, who are obviously not essential to running this now defunct nuclear waste generating station, we all agreed on one thing,

Who in their right mind would run a siren test during an actual emergency?

One is reminded of the childhood story and the lessons learned from “A Boy Who Cried Wolf” Have the people who run these tests never heard of this story? In a nutshell a boy The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop’s Fables, derived the English idiom “to cry wolf”, meaning to give a false alarm. The fable concerns a shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock. So when the time comes that the boy really was being eaten by a wolf, no one paid any attention.

Please Join Us Thursday Night To Express Your Dismay At This Alarming Lack Of Common Sense.

Are you coming? The #SanOnofre Community Engagement Panel will be held on May 22. It’s open to the public: http://t.co/pBgc2Kl9tL
— SCE_SONGS (@SCE_SONGS) May 20, 2014

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ACTION ALERT! San Onofre Nuclear Waste Experiment

NUHOMS® 32PTH2
Don’t Experiment With Nuke Waste Storage In Southern California 

Southern California Edison plans to upgrade to NUHOMS® 32PTH2 dry cask system to store their highly radioactive nuclear waste.  This means storing 32 nuclear fuel assemblies in a space original designed for 24 fuel assemblies..  The higher number of fuel assemblies brings higher risk of radiation releases, especially for the hotter and more radioactive high burnup fuel. This is a brand new design that the NRC approved.  However, the NRC is accepting public comments until May 15, 2014.

Submit comments at this Federal Register link. Refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0271 in any correspondence to the NRC about this.

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=NRC-2013-0271-0001

The NRC should not lower safety standards by approving this new canister.

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Safe and Secure Decommissioning Act of 2014

Safe and Secure Decommissioning Act of 2014
Is 50 Miles Enough?

Washington, D.C. — Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced three bills today aimed at improving the safety and security of decommissioning reactors and the storage of spent nuclear fuel at nuclear plants across the nation.

When spent nuclear fuel is removed from the part of the reactor that generates electricity, it continues to produce significant quantities of heat and radiation for years. Spent nuclear fuel is too dangerous to be removed from the spent fuel pools for 5-7 years. Studies conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and independent experts have shown that partial draining of the water from a spent fuel pool caused by an accident or terrorist attack could result in a spontaneous fire, the release of large quantities of radiation, and widespread contamination. However, NRC regulations allow spent fuel to remain stored in spent fuel pools until the reactor completes decommissioning, which can take as long as 60 years. Current NRC regulations also allow the NRC and the nuclear plant operator to adopt a decommissioning plan without considering the concerns of nearby states and communities. The three bills introduced today will solve all of these problems.

Senator Boxer said: “ In my home state of California, the San Onofre nuclear plant has closed permanently, and this legislation will help guarantee that this facility, and others like it, are safely decommissioned and are no longer a liability for local communities.”

Senator Sanders said: “Every state with a nuclear power plant has a strong interest in how that plant is decommissioned. This is about making sure that states and local communities can play a meaningful role in a decision that has enormous economic, environmental, and community impacts.”

Senator Markey said: “Experts agree that a spent fuel pool accident could have consequences that are every bit as bad as an accident at an operating reactor. In Massachusetts, Pilgrim nuclear plant’s spent fuel pool contains nearly four times more radioactive waste than it was originally designed to hold. Nuclear waste must be moved to safer storage now before the next nuclear disaster occurs.”

Safe and Secure Decommissioning Act of 2014 (Boxer, Sanders, Markey)
The Safe and Secure Decommissioning Act of 2014 would prohibit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from issuing exemptions from its emergency response or security requirements for spent fuel stored at nuclear reactors that have permanently shut down until all of the spent nuclear fuel stored at the site has been moved into dry casks, which are a more secure and safe option for storage. NRC has determined that earthquakes would be the most likely cause of a spent fuel pool failure that could result in a spontaneous fire, the release of large quantities of radiation, and widespread contamination, but has granted every request from emergency response requirements that it has ever received from a licensee of a decommissioning reactor.

Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2014 (Sanders, Boxer, Markey)
The Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2014 would ensure that states and local communities have a meaningful role in the crafting and preparation of decommissioning plans for retired nuclear plants located in those areas. The bill also requires NRC to publicly and transparently approve or reject every proposed decommissioning plan, which it currently is not required to do.

Dry Cask Storage Act of 2014 (Markey, Boxer, Sanders)
The Dry Cask Storage Act of 2014 would ensure that every nuclear reactor operator complies with an NRC-approved plan that would require the safe removal of spent nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pools and place that spent fuel into dry cask storage within 7 years of the time the plan is submitted to the NRC. The legislation also provides funding to help reactor licensees implement the plans and expands the emergency planning zone for non-compliant reactor operators to 50 miles.

For Immediate Release (Important please read) Contact: Mary Kerr or Kate Gilman: 202-224-8832
May 13, 2014

mary_kerr@epw.senate.gov or kate_gilman@epw.senate.go
Michael Briggs (Sanders): 202-224-5141
Giselle Barry (Markey): 202-224-2742

U.S. Senate Committee on
Environment and Public Works

Senators Boxer, Sanders and Markey Introduce Legislation to Increase Safety at Nuclear Plants
Three bills address safety of spent fuel storage and decommissioning plans

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Issues involving Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Nuclear Fuel

Issues involving Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Nuclear Fuel

By
Marvin Resnikoff, Ph.D.
SCE Community Engagement Panel (CEP)
San Juan Capistrano Community Center
May 6, 2014
In the interests of full disclosure, I once worked for a public interest organization with the trademarked name, CEP, Council on Economic Priorities, and co-authored a book in 1983 on transportation issues, 3 years before Holtec, who supplies dry storage casks for the nuclear industry. The CEP book supported dry storage of nuclear fuel, but I never realized at the time the present situation, the amount of fuel and burnup that the industry would employ. In a way, part of the problem is my doing. As a member of the Sierra Club, we intervened against the only commercial reprocessing operation in the United States, Nuclear Fuel Services in West Valley, NY, and shut them down. The lack of reprocessing has led utilities to store more fuel in storage pools and in dry storage casks. The lack of a final repository is also partly my doing. I work for the State of Nevada as a consultant on nuclear transportation issues and have since 1986. My parents never gave me a middle name, but sometimes I think it’s “Trouble.”
So utilities are left with the problem of spent nuclear fuel and also faced with competition from natural gas. The economics has forced utilities to hold fuel in reactors longer, not 3 years, but 4 ½, which means less shutdown time. And the economics are also forcing the industry to put more fuel into each dry storage cask, moving from 24 PWR assemblies, to 32, which Transnuclear has requested for San Onofre, to 37 PWR assemblies, which Holtec has requested. I’m going to briefly discuss transportation and storage of nuclear fuel, and I’m going to focus on high burnup nuclear fuel (HBF). What and why is HBF? NRC has not fully investigated the technical issues and implications, which in my view, are major and should have required careful study and an EIS. This is work that should have been done before the NRC allowed utilities to go to high burnup, not after. By high burnup, I mean fuel greater than 45 GWD/MTU, but in clearer terms, allowing each assembly to remain in the reactor longer. The implications are the radioactive inventory in HBF is greater. NRC staff have focused on the heat in HBF, which is greater. But heat will decline over time. One implication is decommissioning will take longer. Fuel will sit in fuel pool for 20 years or more. San Onofre has high burnup fuel. The implication of a longer decay time is that the workers at the site will not be available for the decom process. Putting more fuel into the same space, moving from 24 fuel assemblies to 32, as Southern California Edison intends to do, will further the cooling off period. However, while heat is an important consideration, but perhaps of greater import is the impact on fuel cladding. It may surprise you to know that the NRC does not know how much HBF exists across the country. While the NRC has the power and the ability to identify how much HBF is at each reactor. The NRC has inspectors at each reactor. They simply have not made the effort. The Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting a survey which should be released in September. HBF has major implications for decommissioning, storage, transportation and disposal.
Storage Issues
Let’s step back a second. Nuclear fuel assembly – collection of fuel rods. (fuel assembly) Each rod, about 12 feet long is composed of a tube, cladding, with nuclear fuel stacked like poker chips inside. But the cladding is quite thin, not much thicker than heavy duty aluminum foil. During operation and after, the cladding will develop defects. Studies by Argonne show that the zirconium cladding of HBF will become less ductile, or more brittle. How brittle? The NRC has contracted with Oak Ridge to examine cladding of HBF. The Oak Ridge study should have been completed in March, but has not been released. I call on the NRC to release the Oak Ridge study, before it is manicured by public relations specialists. This is a study that should have been done before HBF was licensed, not after the fact. In response the NRC would say, we do have technical support. The NRC will cite a study at Turkey Point reactor. But this demonstration project examined a cask loaded with lower burnup fuel (approximately 30 GWd/MTU average). Following 15 years of storage, the cask internals and fuel did not show any significant degradation (Einziger et al., 2003). According to that report, the data from this study can be extrapolated to maintain a licensing safety finding that low burnup SNF can be safely stored in a dry storage mode for at least 80 years with an appropriate aging management program that considers the effects of aging on systems, structures, and components (SSCs). The limits in ISG-11, Rev. 3, a peak cladding temperature of 400 oC, are all based on data available prior to 2002. None of this is directly relevant to HBF.
The NRC will also cite the 1988 report, PNL-6258, “Assessment of the Use of Extended Burnup Fuel in Light Water Power Reactors,” but this report did not address the cladding problems of HBF.
Cooling during storage may result in hydride-induced embrittlement. According to a more recent Argonne report, “pre-storage drying-transfer operations and early stage storage subject cladding to higher temperatures and much higher pressure-induced tensile stresses than experienced in-reactor or during pool storage.” The Argonne report discussed the problems of embrittlement of cladding of HBF. Due to thinning of cladding and lack of ductility, the cladding is weakened. As a result the cladding may not be an effective barrier to release of radioactivity to the cask canister. A report by the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board goes into the matter in great detail. Thinning of cladding is correlated with the outer oxide layer on the cladding. As seen in the figure below, at a burnup of 60 GWD/MTU, the outer oxide layer is 115 microns. Considering the initial cladding thickness is on average 600 microns, NWTRB calculates a metal loss on the order of 70 microns or 12% at 60 GWD/MTU. Together with a hydride layer inside the cladding, this represents substantial weakening of the cladding.
Moving closer to home, for this reason, we are of the opinion, Edison should consider the HBF fuel assemblies to be damaged fuel that should be individually canned; the canned assemblies would then be stored in a HUHOMS concrete containment (NUHOMS being inserted) or a Holtec vertical silo (Holtec silo) for an indefinite period.
Passive cooling works like a chimney. Once fuel is removed and put into storage, after 18 to 20 years, the NRC license can be converted to storage. Here is what remains of CT Yankee reactor (photo). Nuclear fuel in 40 Holtec casks, and reactor internals in 3 casks. San Onofre will have many more casks. But one additional feature distinguishes the San Onofre situation, the salt environment. Documents show that the stainless steel canister has pitting corrosion, after less than 20 years. This is a major concern if casks are going to remain on-site for an extended period, say 40 to 100 years. NRC’s NUREG/CR-7030 states that atmospheric corrosion of sea salt can lead to stress corrosion cracking within 32 and 128 weeks in austenitic [corrosion resistant] stainless steel canisters. How will this corrosion be prevented? Can the canisters be coated to prevent corrosion We do not believe the industry has the experience in transferring failed (damaged) fuel from one cask to another and no procedures for doing this. In fact, no spent fuel bundle, damaged or not, has ever been transferred from one dry cask to another. Since high burnup fuel is more likely to fail sooner in storage, this becomes an even bigger and more urgent problem.
This is not a theoretical problem. Three examples of stress corrosion cracking at San Onofre have already been seen. In the fall of 2009, three examples of chloride-induced SCC which extended through-wall were discovered at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ) of Type 304 stainless steel piping. The piping included 24-inch, Schedule 10 emergency core cooling system (ECCS) suction piping; 6-inch, Schedule 10 alternate boration gravity feed to charging line piping; and an ECCS mini flow return to refueling water storage tank. While the through-wall failures were attributed to chloride-induced SCC, surface pitting was also observed on the surface of the pipes, with a greater concentration in the weld HAZ. All three pipes were exposed to the outside ambient marine atmosphere. Through-wall cracks developed after an estimated 25 years of service….
These are my takeaways on the HBF and storage issue:
• Little technical support for NRC approval of high burnup fuel (HBF). Experiment taking place in the field.
• Total amount of HBF unknown. At a minimum, the NRC should survey utilities.
• HBF will postpone storage up to 20 years; 32 PWR canister extends cooldown period.
• Cladding defects are a major problem for HBF; HBF may not be retrievable. HBF should be canned.
• Because of corrosion, long-term storage may not be possible in a salt environment.
Transportation Issues
Brittleness is important when considering transportation and disposal. One utility, Maine Yankee, has taken the important step of canning the HBF, that is, individually enclosing each fuel assembly in a stainless steel container. Concern is vibrations when transported, and potential shattering of cladding in a transportation accident. Transportation casks must satisfy regulatory accidents. Casks must withstand 30 foot drop onto an unyielding surface. In a hypothetical transportation accident, cask must withstand an end drop (drop from Holtec rpt) where 140 ton casks are cushioned by impact limiters. But a more serious accident involves a side impact where impact limiters are not present. One example is a RR crossing where a cask could be struck by the sill of a locomotive. (picture from NV rpt). NRC has not carefully evaluated such an accident, including the impact limiters. NRC hypothetical accident requires the cask to withstand a 30 inch drop onto a punch.
Another type of accident involves fire. Several major train fires have occurred recently. 140 ton casks would be shipped by train, on the same routes used by oil tankers. Right now, nuclear fuel has nowhere to go, no final repository. But NRC has not done the statistical analysis to determine the statistical likelihood of a nuclear shipment caught in an oil tanker fire. A study of the likelihood of an accident involving an oil tanker fire and a nuclear shipment requires a sophisticated Monte Carlo analysis. In addition to the likelihood of a long duration fire involving a nuclear cask, the NRC must also analyze the consequences of a radioactive release In my opinion, the NRC has not properly taken into account a long duration fire, by not properly taking into account the conduction of fire heat into the cask interior. As seen, fuel sits within a sealed canister, welded shut. The transportation overpack is metal, but this is surrounded by a neutron absorber, generally boronated, hydrogenated plastic, with an outer metal envelope. (picture of cask crossection). Plastic does not effectively conduct heat, so additional metal pieces serve to transfer heat out of the cask, but also conduct heat into the cask in a fire. Oil fire may burn at 1850 oF or higher depending on the air supply. The hypothetical accident fire consists of an all engulfing fire at 1475 oF for 30 minutes, while an oil fire can burn for many hours. The most recent NRC report NUREG-2125 does not correctly take into account a long duration high temperature fire and should be redone.
Here are my takeways on the transportation issue:
• Realistic low probability, high consequence accidents should be examined.
• Side impact rail accidents may shatter HBF cladding.
• Long duration, high temperature fires may involve oil tankers that travel the same tracks. NRC has not properly quantified the statistical likelihood.
Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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Health Effects Of Living Near A Nuclear Reactor

Health Effects of Living Next To A Nuclear Reactor
Nuclear Reactors, On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones Equal Fukushimas
Decommission Diablo Canyon 

The two Diablo Canyon nuclear power reactors (Diablo Canyon) in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County are aging. They began operation in 1984 and 1985, respectively.

They are the only California nuclear power reactors still operating to produce electricity, after the San Onofre reactors were closed in June 2013. In 2010, 465,521 people lived within 50 miles of the plant.

As of 2010, the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant held 1126 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste, containing more radioactivity than that released during the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. Diablo Canyon emitted more highly-toxic liquid tritium into the environment than any U.S. plant during the late 2000s.

A 2013 study by the Union of Concerned Scientists concluded that the discovery of “a previously unknown earthquake fault line running as close as 2,000 feet from Diablo Canyon’s two reactors…could cause more ground motion during an earthquake than the plant was designed to withstand. Since this new fault was discovered, the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] has not demonstrated that the reactors meet agency safety standards.”

Average radioactive Strontium-90 (Sr-90) levels in baby teeth from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties were 30.8% greater than the Sr-90 levels in all California baby teeth tested. In the state of California, Sr-90 levels in baby teeth rose steadily, increasing 50.2% in children born in the late 1990s vs. the late 1980s. Nuclear power plants are the only current source of Sr-90 emissions into the environment.

Major findings about local health patterns around the Diablo Nukes include:

1. Since the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant opened in the mid-1980s, San Luis Obispo County has changed from a relatively low-cancer to a high-cancer county.

2. Due to increases in the San Luis Obispo County cancer rate during 2001-2010, an additional 738 people were diagnosed with cancer.

3. Cancer incidence in San Luis Obispo County rose from 0.4% below to 6.9% above the average for the state of California during the time period of 1988-1990 to 2003-2010. The current cancer rate is the highest of all 20 counties in southern California.

4. After Diablo Canyon began operating, significant rapid increases occurred for the incidence of thyroid and female breast cancer in San Luis Obispo County, both highly radiosensitive cancers.

5. After Diablo Canyon began operating, infant mortality in San Luis Obispo County rose significantly.

6. After Diablo Canyon began operating, child/adolescent cancer mortality in the county rose rapidly.

7. Melanoma incidence in San Luis Obispo County soared from 3.6% above to 130.2% above the state incidence rate during the period from 1988-1990 to 2003-2010, and is now the highest of all California counties.

8. Cancer mortality for people of all ages in San Luis Obispo County rose from 5.1% below to 1.4% above California from 1988-1990 to 2008-2010, making SLO the 25thhighest county in the state (up from 43rd highest).

9. The ratio of babies born at very low-weight (below 3 pounds, 4 ounces) rose 45.0% higher in the 9 San Luis Obispo County zip codes closest to Diablo Canyon, versus the other more distant 10 county zip codes.

10. The ratio of all-cause mortality rose 47.9% higher in the 9 San Luis Obispo County zip codes closest to Diablo Canyon, versus the other more distant 10 county zip codes.

11. In the 10 zip code areas in Santa Barbara County closest to Diablo Canyon, there was a greater rise in the rates of infant mortality (61.7%), low weight births (40.2%) and total mortality (19.1%), than in the 5 zip codes areas in the city of Santa Barbara, located approximately 90 miles from the reactors.

12. The major findings of this report show increases in various rates of disease and death in San Luis Obispo County, as compared to the state of California, since the 1980s (before plant startup and during its early years of operation). This includes increases in infant mortality, child/adolescent cancer mortality, cancer incidence for all ages (especially thyroid, female breast, and melanoma), and cancer mortality for all ages.

Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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SCE Cited For Major Nuclear Related Safety Violation At San Onofre

Get SCE Out of San Onofre

Background: NRC Spent Fuel Pool Cooling Requirements:


“Each licensee shall develop and implement guidance and strategies intended to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling capabilities under the circumstances associated with loss of large areas of the plant due to explosions or fire ….”
The San Onofre spent fuel cooling fire protection plan in the event of a large fire and/or explosion hinges on the expertise and staffing of the on-sight San Onofre Fire Department.
Since the San Onofre Fire Department and Emergency Planning Personnel Staffing was reduced to a skeleton crew without prior approval from the NRC after a full and proper evaluation, the existing fire plan is now outdated and unrealistic in event of a large fire or explosion.
A Spent Fuel Pool Cooling Accident, in case of a large fire or explosion without adequate and demonstrated mitigation measures is a MAJOR Nuclear Safety Concern for all the millions of Southern Californians living within the 10 Mile Emergency Protection Zone.  Remember Fukushima‘s triple meltdowns occurred because of a failure to keep their reactors cool after the big earth quake and tsunami which occurred on 03/11/11.

Last Friday, the NRC cited SCE, the operator of San Onofre’s nuclear power plant for violating NRC rules by failing to get approval before eliminating 39 emergency-response jobs after the plant closed last year.
Historically, NRC Region IV has had the habit of citing Southern California Edison with only low level violations, even if the violations were actually severe violations.  This cozy relationship was a contributing factor in the radioactive leak that resulted in the early decommissioning of San Onofre Units 2 & 3 and the loss of billions of dollars to SoCal ratepayers that could have been prevented, if the NRC had enforced the Federal Regulations as written.  This type of safety enforcement is not good for Californians or the NRC.  Now a serious review/investigation and proper action/fines are required by the NRC and its Commissioners, to assure Nuclear Safety is maintained at San Onofre and all the other US Nuclear Power Plants.
The question the NRC should ask is, Knowing that the SPENT FUEL POOLS MUST STILL BE KEPT COOL 24/7 no matter what, if a major earth quake occurred tonight, would San Onofre Fire Dept.’s skeleton crew be able to guarantee US that they could prevent a nuclear accident from occurring, especially since the 39 emergency-response positions that were illegally eliminated, probably cost ratepayers much less than even one still employed highly paid nuclear manager who would be home sleeping?  
The question that the CPUC should ask is, “If SEC is really interested in safety as they keep telling us, what is the reasonableness of continually cutting corners on those that actually insure our safety, while at the same time retaining other highly paid nuclear Staff?
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Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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Private Profit, Public Debt, The Nuclear Saga Continues In San Clemente

Would you give 3 hours of your time on Tuesday to lower cancer rates in San Clemente and adjacent communities?Studies show that communities who are actively involved in the decommissioning of their power plants result in lower radiation readi…

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To all who will help make California safe for our children’s future

To all who will help make California safe for our children’s future,Public meeting of the new SCE CEP (Community Engagement Panel) about the decommissioning of SONGS will be Tuesday, March 25 from 6 to 9 p.m. . The meeting will be held a…

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Remembering Fukushima Film Screening Laguna Beach March 11

Remembering Fukushima BC Space Gallery Laguna Beach

Film Screening : March 11 : Metamorphosis by Jun Hori : 7 pm
(3rd Anniversary of the 2011 Earthquake & Tsunami)

Jun Hori is a noted Japanese television journalist and commentator. His documentary video “Metamorphosis” explores the Japanese citizen reaction to the Fukushima reactor meltdowns, and public opposition to government proposals to reopen Japan’s remaining 50 reactors. “Metamorphosis” also explores several nuclear accident sites in the United States, including Three Mile Island. When NHK, Japan’s public television network, refused to broadcast “Metamorphosis,” Jun Hori ended his long-term relationship with NHK.

When San Onofre’s nuclear waste generating plant closed last summer, many breathed a sigh of relief. Yet San Onofre still requires a multi-decade ‘decommissioning,’ with radioactive fuel and components carted away to uncertain disposal, at further expense measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. Who profits and who pays is in dispute.

Plutonium Is Forever
For additional information please contact the gallery or Mark Chamberlain at 949.697.5237

BC Space Gallery
235 Forest Avenue
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949.497.1880
bcspace@mol.net

Aging Nuke Plants On Fault Lines In Tsunami Hazard Zones = Fukushimas… Any Questions?
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre

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