SONGS spent fuel “more of a threat” than a meltdown

NBC news has published an alarming exposé on the safety of Southern California Edison’s plans to store nuclear waste on the beach in thin-shelled canisters at the now-failed SONGS, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The story is based on research and documents provided by Public Watchdogs.

We have released the safety documents that  spurred the NBC  exposé and you can get them here.

The story quotes an editorial opinion from the highly respected science journal, Scientific American (attached) stating that the  spent fuel at facilities like SONGS is “more of a threat than a meltdown.”   It also quotes the Public Watchdogs’ executive  director, and prominent nuclear safety experts on why the beach at San Onofre is the worst  possible location for a nuclear waste  dump for hot radioactive fuel.

Is Edison lying about “dry cask” safety?

The hot radioactive waste at San Onofre is deadly to humans for millions of years. Yet in the NBC story Southern California Edison claims that its thin-walled waste-storage drum are “safe” for waste for more than 80-years … a statement that directly flies in face of  internal documents  uncovered in legal discovery by the nuclear waste safety group San Onofre Safety.org.

Those documents show that the “dry casks” (which will actually be buried inches above the water table) are only guaranteed for
10 to 25 years depending on the system’s components, and that the design life of the casks is only sixty years.

Worst Safety Record in the USA

According to Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents, SONGS  has the WORST nuclear safety record in the USA  according to NRC documents secured by San Onofre Safety,  making all claims of “safety” by Edison highly questionable.

For additional background, or to arrange an interview on the likelihood of a nuclear disaster at San Onofre, contact Charles Langley at (858) 752-4600.

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