San Onofre – The Risks Live On

Decommissioning San Onofre and the Ongoing Dangers of Nuclear Waste

A community symposium held October 19, 2013 in San Clemente, California.

The June 7, 2013 shutdown of the two remaining nuclear reactors at Southern California Edison’s San Onofre plant is an important milestone for the resurgent Nuclear Free California movement.

But much work still remains.

Now activists are turning their attention closing California’s one remaining nuclear plant, Pacific Gas & Electric’s Diablo Canyon.

They are also beginning the process of educating themselves and the public to confront the looming challenge of the massive amounts of high-level nuclear waste still stored on-site at San Onofre and Diablo, which are both in earthquake and tsunami zones.

It has now emerged that, like many nuclear utilities around the country, SoCal Edison and PG&E have been using what’s called ‘high burn-up’ fueling practices for years. That means that the fuel assemblies burn hotter, longer and produce more profits. It also means they must be kept in cooling pools longer than conventional bundles and it is not known whether they can be safely stored in dry casks.

The speakers and the audience examine the waste perplex at San Onofre in depth as a microcosm of the tough challenges facing other nuclear reactor sites and communities around the country and around the world.
For more info: SanOnofreSafety.org

Main speakers: Dr. Arjun Makhijani, Dr. Don Mosier and Dr. Marvin Resnikoff.

Coalition sponsors include: Peace Resource Center of San Diego, Citizens Oversight Project, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, Women Occupy San Diego, San Clemente Green, San Onofre Safety, and Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE).

Video Production: Laurent Malaquais, EON

The Symposium in Six Parts

Decommissioning San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant (part 1 of 6)