Fullerton Observer: Scandals at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station put public at risk

Two recent scandals confirm that public safety is not top priority of either the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or SoCal Edison as they lurch forward with a faulty engineering design for removing spent nuclear waste from cooling pools and loading into dry storage at the now shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. According to Charles Langley, executive director of PublicWatchdogs.org, salt from the Pacific Ocean will cause the thin-walled metal cans to fail quickly …

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NRC refuses to fine Holtec for violating Federal nuclear safety laws, underscoring its complete failure to protect the public

Holtec had two violations, the NRC said: failure to establish adequate design control measures of components important to safety, and failure to perform evaluations before making changes. A base civil penalty of $36,250 was considered and rejected due to Holtec’s “prompt and comprehensive” corrective actions, which outraged some critics. “The failure by the NRC to fine Holtec for breaking the law shows that it isn’t serious about protecting the public’s safety,” said Charles Langley, executive director of Public Watchdogs, in a statement.

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Southern California Edison gets wrist-slap from NRC for nuclear waste safety violations

Owners of the failed SONGS nuclear plant have been fined for violating Federal radiation safety laws. The fine is a wrist-slap which proves the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is incapable of enforcing the laws protecting the public from future nuclear radiation accidents. The failure of the Nuclear regulatory Commission to enforce Federal safety laws, and its history of weakening existing laws portray an NRC that is a victim of regulatory capture, where formerly powerful regulators are required to kow-tow to the whims of mid-level managers at Southern California Edison.

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Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) safety inspection at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station fails to impress critics

Public Watchdogs criticizes the NRC for not “putting boots on the ground” in its recent report, and for conducting a sham inspection.  Get our letter of protest explaining why it is a sham here. Preliminary NRC report finds a host of ‘deficiencies’ after incident at San Onofre nuclear plant By ROB NIKOLEWSKI OCT 20, 2018 | 11:20 AM | SAN DIEGO – republished under the Fair Use provision of U.S….

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Public Watchdogs’ comments on the 8th anniversary of Fukushima.

Nina Babiarz and Charles Langley of Public Watchdogs interview on KUSI news with Lauren Phinney about the eighth anniversary of the Fukushima radiation disaster that displaced 100,000 people in one of the largest evacuations in world history.  Could a similar nuclear disaster happen in San Diego at the site of the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, where millions of pounds of deadly nuclear waste — …

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KUSI Report: Ticking Time Bomb video commercial warns public about radioactive danger at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)

  Public Watchdogs’ TV Commercial warns public of radiation danger     DATELINE, February 25, 2019:   SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – A nuclear safety watchdog group has released a new television ad that says the nuclear waste stored near the beach at San Onofre is a disaster waiting to happen. Public Watchdogs based in San Diego has a 15 second TV ad that features shots of the…

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Public Watchdogs behind “Ticking Time Bomb” Public Service Announcements – San Diego Union Tribune

Advocacy group buys airtime to oppose San Onofre nuclear waste                     Jeff McDonald   February 25, 2019,  4:55 PM  A San Diego advocacy nonprofit began airing new TV commercials Monday to warn about the potential dangers of storing nuclear waste from the San Onofre plant at the beach. The spot opens with traffic zooming along Interstate 5, north of Oceanside, past…

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Yucca Mountain is a choice between “Horrible” and “Atrocious”

The worst possible place to store nuclear waste is 108 feet from the beach at San Onofre State Beach Park Tom Elias is the only syndicated columnist (28 newspapers) that I know of who actually takes the time to understand and report on complex infrastructure issues such as San Onofre’s nuclear waste, and the possibility of storing the waste at Yucca Mountain.  In this story, Will…

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NRC initiates feigned inspection at San Onofre

  Public Watchdogs asks “What are we paying them for?” Nuclear Regulatory Commission begins ‘special inspection’ of San Onofre nuclear station Rob Nikolewski, September 10, 2018 4:55 PM A team of five inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday began what is expected to be a five-day review of how a 45-ton canister loaded with spent nuclear fuel ended up getting suspended 18 feet from the floor…

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August Has Been a Cruel Month for San Onofre Nuke Plant

Public Watchdogs says the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) “spent fuel casks are not thick enough and could crack.” by MICHAEL STEINBERG / Blackrain Press Republished from the OB Rag under the Fair use provision of U.S. copyright law.  Get the original story here. Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of…

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Orange County Register: Spent nuclear waste burial halted

Spent nuclear waste burial halted at San Onofre until NRC can probe ‘near miss’ with canister. Public Watchdogs “alarmed” that NRC waited more than two weeks to investigate. Vertical Cask Transporter First fuel move Jan. 30-31, 2018 San Onfore (Courtesy of Southern California Edison) This story is reproduced from the Orange County Register under the Fair Use provision of U.S. Copyright law. Get the original story…

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San Onofre Settlement Deal “Unimpressive” improvement to “Rape of Ratepayers”

CPUC wipes away Peevey/Edison collusion, criminal investigation Ratepayers get minor relief; law firm gets $5.4 million By Don Bauder, July 27, 2018 The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) yesterday (July 26) made an unimpressive adjustment to a rape of the ratepayer that began with a secret meeting between the then-top commissioner, Michael Peevey, and a representative of Southern California Edison in a hotel in Warsaw, Poland. Peevey sketched…

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Regulators Okay San Onofre Settlement with modifications

State regulators approve San Onofre nuclear settlement, trimming $750M from original deal This story is reproduced by Public Watchdogs under the fair use provision of U.S. Copyright law. Please read the original story at the San Diego Union Tribune here.   The site of the dry cask storage facility that holds the spent nuclear fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. (Photo by Southern California…

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