Now that San Onofre’s demo is nearing completion and the domes dropping down soon, the most critical issue we are confronted with is the structural integrity of the ‘scratched and gouged’ canisters.
That damage to the cans was due to Southern California Edison’s (aka Edison’s) 2 (two) 2018 downloading accidents that Edison attempted to conceal from the public. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) ‘special investigation’ report concluded that both Edison accidents were a direct result of a failed downloading procedure implemented by untrained personnel.
Why is the structural integrity of those canisters so critically important NOW?
Simple. It’s the condition of the canisters that will determine whether they will be transportable off the beach at all. Because the only other alternative is that we are left with 3.6 million pounds of Edison’s radioactive waste on our beach for future generations to inherit!
Now for the details about the radioactive threat we may be stuck with indefinitely.
Not so long ago and not so far away, in a San Diego courtroom, Edison reached a legal settlement with the California Coastal Commission (CCC). That settlement resulted in the Commission granting Edison 2 (two) Coastal Development Permits; one for San Onofre’s decommission of the plant and one for the demolition.
Both of the Commission’s CDP’s Coastal Development Permits) required Edison to:
“Submit for review and approval an ‘Inspection and Maintenance Program’ designed to ensure that the fuel storage casks
remain in a physical condition to allow for on-site transfer or off-site transport.”
A ‘third-party party independent reviewer’ required by the Coastal Commission, recommended Edison to STOP using an inaccurate calculation method because it under-predicts/under-estimates the damage depth. The reviewer (LPI) made another specific and direct recommendation; Edison should ONLY use the accurate calculation method specified.
But that’s NOT what Edison did!
For several years now, Public Watchdogs has requested that Edison follow that third-party recommendation and “Cease and Desist” using that incorrect calculation method that “underpredicts” and “underestimates” the depth of the cans to no avail. Public Watchdogs has captured Community Engagement Panel (CEP) video recordings and legal transcripts from several meetings whereby Edison:
• refused to stop using that incorrect calculation method as recommended by LPI and
• insisted they will continue to use both the inaccurate and accurate calculation methods
While Public Watchdogs concludes that the critical canister data collection is being corrupted, Edison claims that the Coastal Commission approved of Edison using both calculation methods to measure. Skeptical, we requested Edison provide a copy of that Coastal Commission approval. Edison has been unable or unwilling to provide it for years. So, what did Public Watchdogs do? We went to the June 10th Commission meeting held in San Diego.
I posed the question to the Commission: “Do you approve or NOT!?” Take a listen…
Also, one Coastal Commissioner specifically requested staff provide more Enforcement info from my “Public Comment” regarding Edison’s San Onofre’s permit violations. Listen to tell… Could she possibly be satisfied by Staff’s response?
We think not.
But, you be the judge. This plot will thicken. Next in this series will be the response Public Watchdogs gets from our Coastal Commission Enforcement’s Division’s filing. Stay tuned.