11 reasons why storing nuclear waste 108 feet from San Onofre State Beach is a bad idea
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Situation Analysis: Southern California Edison has completed the burial of 73 gigantic cans of deadly radioactive nuclear waste from the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The waste is being stored 108 feet from the beach at San Onofre State Park. This high-tech nuclear waste dump is located inside the legal boundary of the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. This makes it a legitimate military target under the Rules of War.
Updated November, 2024
1. Nuclear waste is lethal to humans and animals for more than 10,000 generations. According to the highly respected journal Scientific American, the nuclear waste at San Onofre State Beach will be toxic for 250,000 years, or roughly 12,500 human generations.
2. “Temporary Storage” could be 300 years.
Southern California Edison, the owner of the nuclear waste at San Onofre, says their storage of the waste on the beach is a “temporary” measure. What they don’t tell you is that the federal definition of “temporary” storage can be up to 300 years.
3. The “dry canisters” are only guaranteed to last 10 to 25 years.
Southern California Edison has been telling our elected officials that the casks will be safe for more than 100 years. But thanks to legal work by San Onofre -Safety.org, Edison was forced to release sensitive documents showing that the so-called Holtec UMAX “system” of dry storage is only guaranteed to last 10 years, and that the steel canisters are only guaranteed for 25-years. What’s more, if the concrete “system” that holds the canisters fails within ten years, the 25-year warranty is voided.
4. Once the waste is buried it could remain on the beach forever.
The cheapest storage option for Southern California Edison is to keep the waste on the beach.
5. The beach is the worst possible location.
Storing nuclear waste at San Onofre State Beach is like smoking near an open container of gasoline. The current location is near the Newport-Inglewood earthquake fault line, which like the San Andreas, goes all the way to the earth’s mantle. And like Fukushima, it is in the middle of a tsunami zone. What’s more, it is located in an area ripe for a terrorist attack.
6. 8.5 million people live within the 50-mile plume zone surrounding San Onofre.
In the event of a major nuclear disaster, everyone within this zone could be endangered. Yet we know this plume zone is an arbitrary number established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
7. There have been TWO “Near-Hit” unsecured load events.
In plain English this means we risked a nuclear disaster when a 100,000 pound can of nuclear was almost dropped 18 feet onto a steel reinforced concrete floor. These “near-hits” as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission calls them, were not even reported to the public until a courageous worker broke the silence in a and revealed the truth.
8. Threatens one of the USA’s most critical transportation corridors.
San Onofre is located next to the second busiest rail corridor in the USA. The passenger rails carry 7.5 million people annually. In addition, Interstate 5 is a freeway that carries an average of 20,000 vehicles an hour. Closure of this corridor due to radiation will block a critical supply and evacuation route for Southern Californians, tourists, and truckers.
9. FEMA is not budgeted to respond to an emergency.
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been ordered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to stand down at San Onofre when a “radiological incident occurs.” Thanks to new NRC regulations, all emergency response will be handled by local Orange County and San Diego Emergency Services.
10. The so-called “Settlement to move the waste” does not move the waste.
The so-called lawsuit to “move the nuclear waste” was a humiliating failure. All it did was pay a small law firm more than $5 million to back away from case. According to the firm “It wasn’t a good deal, it was just the best we could get.” Details are at: https://goo.gl/5P1b9c
11) Public Watchdogs has sued to move the nuclear waste. You may support our legal battles by donating to our litigation and outreach war chest. With more than 189 attorneys on Southern California Edison’s staff, the opposition is fierce.