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SCE to Restart Fuel Transfer Operations at San Onofre Nuclear Plant

July 22, 2019July 22, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

On July 15, 2019, Southern Califronia Edison announced that it would resume the transfer of spent nuclear fuel (i.e. lethally radioactive waste) at its beachfront nuclear waste dump located at the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The movement of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) was stopped for almost a year on August 3, 2018 when a 100,000 pound canister of SNF was nearly dropped 18 feet in what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) calls a “near-miss.” Southern California Edison worked closely with the NRC to keep this harrowing “near-miss” and an additional unreported “near-miss” on July 22, 2018, a secret from the public.

Edison resumes burial of deadly nuclear waste at public beach

July 17, 2019September 4, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

The San Onofre State Beach Park Nuclear Waste dump, known by the Orwellian term “ISFSI” or Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation,” has been portrayed as a safe and clean storage facility for nuclear waste, but critics say that water and nuclear waste don’t mix, and that this particular dump is the most dangerous in the U.S.A.

7.1 Earthquake deepens fears of a nuclear release at failed San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant

July 12, 2019September 4, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

San Diego, CA, July 12, 2019 – Last week, Southern California was hit by an earthquake with a 7.1 magnitude. The earthquake shook most of Southern California including the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), where 3.6 million pounds of deadly nuclear waste is in the process of being buried in Holtec canisters 108 ft. from the ocean. It remains unclear if SoCal Edison has an…

Did Holtec “persuade” federal employees with cash incentives?

July 11, 2019September 4, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

The next time you hear a government employee or government contractor defending Holtec International, or awarding the company a juicy federal contract, keep in mind that the employee who made the decision may have benefited from gifts of cash or entertainment from Holtec. At least that’s what is alleged in this blockbuster story by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Kris Singh, CEO of…

Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejects request for full-time safety inspector at SONGS

July 11, 2019September 4, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) bureaucrats have spurned a request by a sitting United States Congressman to put a full-time safety inspector onsite during the transfer of spent nuclear fuel at the accident-prone San Onofre Nuclear Waste Dump. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has rejected a written request from Congressman Mike Levin to deploy a full-time NRC inspector at the San Onofre Nuclear Waste Dump, which is…

New Government Accountability Office Report highlights failure of NRC to protect public against “dirty bombs”

July 10, 2019September 4, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

The non-partisan congressional Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a troubling report on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s failure to protect the public from “Dirty Bombs” The GAO was chartered by Congress to investigate and audit how taxpayer dollars are spent by federal agencies. This report is a bombshell, yet it has been largely ignored since its publication last April The new report is titled COMBATING NUCLEAR…

Radioactive emergency sirens at San Onofre are being removed … but that doesn’t mean there is no risk.

July 8, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

Southern California Edison has announced that it is removing all of its radiation alert sirens from nearby communities that are close the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). Now that the plant is closed, 3.6 million pounds of deadly radioactive nuclear waste are being buried 108 feet from the beach. When the beachfront nuclear waste dump is completed, it will contain 72 giant, thin-walled canisters…

NRC June 3 2019 Webinar now available at PublicWatchdogs.org

June 3, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

The June 3, 2019 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Webinar is now available at the Public Watchdogs YouTube Channel. The NRC has promised that it will publish a video of today’s deeply disturbing Webinar, but we doubt they”ll get around to publishing it for several weeks, so we have published it here. The webinar was is supposed to reassure the public that the NRC is actually doing…

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

May 5, 2019May 7, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

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.

NRC “enforcement decision” represents a miserable failure to regulate.

April 26, 2019May 9, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

Today, the nonprofit public safety advocacy group, Public Watchdogs, reacted to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission email touting an “enforcement decision,” at the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s beachfront nuclear waste dump, by calling the agency a “miserable failure.” Breaking news: April 26, 2019, 3:50PM NRC “Enforcement Action” against Holtec shows a complete failure to regulate USA’s nuclear waste stockpile. Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced…

Public Watchdogs sues State Lands Commission to stop destruction of Spent Fuel Pools

April 25, 2019May 9, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

Dateline San Diego, April 26, 2019 —Today, Public Watchdogs announced that it has filed a second legal action against the beachfront San Onofre Nuclear Waste Dump owned by Southern California Edison (Edison). Get the lawsuit here. The lawsuit aims to prevent the tear-down of the spent nuclear fuel pools, which currently hold more than two-million pounds of nuclear waste that is lethal to human life for…

April 10, 2019, recording of Holtec and NRC Joint Public Relations event

April 19, 2019May 9, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

Is the NRC embarrassed, or just secretive? Every lowered canister containing nuclear waste at San Onofre has been gouged during the loading process. This is a problem, because even small scratches can create a toe-hold for stress corrosion cracking, which has the potential to destroy the integrity of a canister in a matter of years. The NRC has refused to publish a transcript, or this…

Public Watchdogs PSA aims to put Southern California Edison on the ropes

April 11, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

Press Advisory: 9-Year-Old Girl Strikes blow for justice in “hard-hitting” nuclear awareness PSA Today, Public Watchdogs announced that it has launched a hard hitting television and social media campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of deadly radioactive waste being stored at San Onofre State Beach Park in San Diego California. Get the official press release. The public service announcement, which stars a ferociously cute nine-year-old girl,…

Public Watchdogs launches “Fighting for our Future” PSA

April 11, 2019April 14, 2019 Public Watchdogs Leave a comment

For immediate Release, April 12, 2019 Ad alerts public to threat of nuclear waste for generations to come DATELINE San Diego, California — After launching the first public service announcement video of their “Ticking Time Bomb” public awareness campaign in late February, local nonprofit Public Watchdogs has unleashed a second PSA this week. “Fighting for our…

Non-Public Video Upload Page – Edison publicly humiliated

March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 Public Watchdogs 1 Comment

Ironically, Edison’s March 28th Community Engagement panel Meeting took place on the 40th Anniversary of the Three-Mile-Island (TMI) nuclear meltdown. Two NRC representatives attended the meeting: Scott Morris, and Linda Howell. The video excerpts below are from that meeting, which can be viewed in its entirety on the Public Watchdogs YouTube Channel here. On August 3, 2018, a delicate thin-walled steel canister filled with a 100,000…