Storing Nuclear Waste At San Onofre: It's Only Complicated If You Are Confused About The Issues

Storing nuclear waste at San Onofre: it's only complicated if you can’t tell the difference between a shortboard and a longboard, and where each should be paddled out.

The Shortboard "Thin Can" VS Longboard "Thick Cask" Debate

Or let me put it to you this way so as to be perfectly clear.

YOU DON’T WANT NUCLEAR WASTE STORED IN THIN CANS ON THE BEACH AT SANO!

A “canister” OR “can” is like the ½ to ⅝  of an inch steel cans Edison has a permit for at San Onofre. A “cask” is a thick radwaste metal container up to 19 inches thick, this is an important distinction to make if we want to discuss safety at San Onofre from a factual point of view.

The Nuke Waste At Sano

The Issues From A Factual Point Of View

1. This waste is onsite now, 3,600,000lbs of it.
2. This waste has nowhere to go in the foreseeable future
3. Edison has chosen thin walled cans over thick walled casks to store this radwaste, the NRC expects the waste to be here for 300 years.
4. Each can would hold as much radiation as was released from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, each can is only warrantied for 20 years.
5. Edison promises these “Chernobyl Cans” won't leak. Do you forget the 40 year rating of the replacement steam generators? They lasted less than one year before leaking radiation, Edison lied about that radiation leak into our community for days after the event.
6. Each can would have no internal monitoring.
7. A can would have no "defense in depth" or “multiple layers of failure”
8. Cans crack from exposure to salt air and engine exhaust
9. There is no approved way to test or repair cracks in these cans.
10. A cracked can, can have no seismic rating and cannot be transported
11. Each can would be on the beach, straddling an earthquake fault, in a tsunami zone,
12. Surrounded by millions of people, and thousands of surfers.
13. Why are you still reading this? Toss these cans in the trash.

Rescind the Coastal permit for this badly planned nuke dump on the beach at San Onofre.

Demand Thick Walled Metal Casks, Not Cans
Make anything purchased for San Onofre Nuclear Waste match the location that we find ourselves in, using the best thick-wall cask technology available in the world.  Let this become the standard of waste management.

Safety should be our only concern.  

UPDATE the April 14th 2PM  hearing has been CANCELLED.

Superior Court Central Courthouse, Dept C68
220 W Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
Google Maps Link https://goo.gl/maps/V9szQGEb9Sr

Storing Nuclear Waste At San Onofre: It's only complicated if you are confused about the issues and don't want to think about the facts. #SaveTrestles our very own #StandingRock

NUCLEAR WASTE ACTION ALERT

NUCLEAR WASTE ACTION ALERT:

By Jerry Collamer

Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and San Onofre High Level Nuke Dump are encouraging environmental activists to organize their members to visit/contact all of their state and federal elected officials to demand they take action on our nation's critical nuclear waste issues,  “what and where to put America’s growing stockpiles of waste?” Many of us working on this think that now is the time for a big push. With 14 nuke plants decommissioning and more to come soon we cannot wait any longer for strong action to be taken. Let’s get organized across the country!

We all know that in the beginning of the nuclear madness, it was promised that in 40 years the solution to nuclear waste would be figured out by the time it was needed. This did not come true, it has not been figured out. Instead, in August 2014 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission turned all NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS into NUCLEAR WASTE DUMPS for a minimum of 200 years. US taxpayers over these past years have now subsidized the nuclear industry with over 14 trillion dollars. Also, the Department of Energy is paying these nuclear plants MILLIONS OF DOLLARS MORE EACH YEAR TO STORE THEIR NUCLEAR WASTE ONSITE IN YOUR BACKYARD! WE MUST STOP MAKING MORE NUCLEAR WASTE NOW.  We also know that it is no longer satisfactory to let our elected officials keep kicking this nuclear canister down the road. We must demand action from our government and the nuclear industry to find the solutions that are needed, and our anti-nuclear activists must have a seat at this table. Our generation of activists cannot be the one that lets this INACTION continue for another 200 years! Yes, of course,I know some of us have been working on this for years, but few have been listening to us, but now the “times they are a changin.” More people are now listening to us and WE MUST ACT NOW!

Listen to former chairperson of the NRC, Allison MacFarlane's talk at the June 22nd CEP meeting. This nuclear waste information is very important if you want to get the DOE and the government moving on the waste issue. Video 1, start the video at 1:55:30 to hear the entire talk at: http://www.songscommunity.com/cep-events/062216_event.asp

Please take action by using this link to contact your elected officials:

Please take action by using the links below to contact your elected officials:

US Senate http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?state=me

House of Representative http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

As a reminder, the Invitation for Public Comment closes on Sunday July 31st at 11:59 PM ET. Please email your comments to consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov or submit them using the options listed in the Federal Register notice before the closing date to have them considered in the draft summary report. Additionally, we are posting comments received to our website, and the first batch reflecting public input through July 1st is provided below. Comments received from July 1st - 31st will be posted in a similar manner after July 31st. Link to the document: http://www.energy.gov/ne/downloads/invitation-public-comment-inform-design-consent-based-siting-process

Nuke Dump Outlet Mall San Clemente

 Nothing says Welcome To Town like a Nuke Dump and an Outlet Mall.

No Nuke Dump At San Onofre #SaveTrestles

It's a beautiful day in San Clemente, California, and you are here, discovering treasure, never mind the 3,600,000 lbs of high grade nuclear waste a few miles south. So Cal Edison would like to bury it in the sand, a few feet from the ocean in thin steal canisters that can crack thru in our lifetime. They will tell you they have no way to test for these cracks, or even have a way to fix them. If something were to go wrong there real time radiation monitoring of the nuclear dump at San Onofre is not avalable to you. With Edisions past track record of first denying and then admitting there was a radiation release beg for more transparency? With radiation you can't see it, you can't smell it and we may never know, wink, if it affects its neighbors, read you and me, thanks to the Nuclear Regulatory Commision cancelling the cancer study.

Traffic along the I-5 has been a nightmare with the widening of the freeway, and since La Pata, the only other potential way out of town, is not completed, someone thought it would be a good idea to have the Outlet at San Clemente Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony today at 10:30!



Now the good news, the nuke dump is in the planning stages, if you live in California you want to support candidates that will fight the notion that a nuke dump at Trestles is somehow a good idea. If they think that this is not a problem they need to be replaced before that sign is set in stone. 

When Radiation Isn’t the Real Risk http://t.co/vsQN7EfWyo

— Tim Brown (@timthebrown) September 22, 2015

The real risk is apathy.  No Nuke Dump At San Onofre. #SaveTrestles 

San Onofre Cancer Study Cancelled?

#NRC cancels health study around nuclear plants, including #SanOnofre - The Orange County Register http://t.co/QhVMFNKlRv

— AA Clearinghouse (@AAClearinghouse) September 18, 2015

San Onofre Operators Exposed on #NBC: Massive Contamination at Pristine Beach http://t.co/TcxQu7J2dB #nonukes #climate #security #sec #law

— Cecalli Helper (@Cecalli_Helper) September 22, 2015

Report: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station very very sloppy, very very careless in handling radioactive material.

The most common wind direction for most of the year was North (Orange County) except in the spring (April-June) when it was to the south (San Diego County).

In 2012, there were 29 incidents of effluent monitoring instruments being out of service for more than 30 days. In 2013 there were 22 such incidents.

It is interesting to examine NRC documents on batch releases after the reactors were shut down (Jan., 2012) compared to when they were in full operation.  There were 3 batch releases of gaseous effluents in when Units 2 and 3 were in operation in 2011 (total 44.2 hours).  In 2012 (after it was shut down) there were 6 such releases totaling 43.1 hours.

Liquid radioactive batch releases in 2011 totaled 518 hours at 740,000 gal per minute.  In 2012 after operation ceased, releases went on for 335 hours at 612,000 gal per minute.

The NRC claims that it cannot afford the $8 million to carry out the cancer study proposed by the National Academy of Sciences.  For 2016, the NRC has requested $1.032  billion of which 90% will be paid for by the nuclear industry it is supposed to be regulating.  The NRC spends $25 million/year on travel expenses.  In 2015, the nuclear industry gave the NRC $43 million for "outreach" and "policy support."  

Ask your local representative to tell the NRC, 
BRING BACK THE CANCER STUDY! 
&

"NO effluent releases at any time in cases of effluent monitoring instrument failure"

THE POWER TO CHANGE

“If the ideas that rule our culture are stopping us from saving ourselves, then it is within our power to change those ideas.”  Naomi Klein

We humans are adept at fighting for what we are against.  Can we fight as hard for what we are for?  Socrates reminds us “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

Many people, including ninety seven percent of climate scientists, agree that climate warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities.  Some of the results of global warming, according to “Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet” are: global sea levels are rising, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass and the thickness of the Arctic Sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world.  The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed in the upper layer of the oceans is increasing by approximately 2 billion tons per year.  James Hansen, adjunct professor of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, believes that carbon pollution is set to end the era of stable climate.

Solar for Seals project 2014

With these facts pointing to the devastation of life on Earth as we know it, what actions are we willing to take to assure the continuation of life on our beautiful planet?  We must join together now to do what we can do to make the necessary changes to reverse these trends.  Human beings have the capacity to learn and adapt quickly.  We are able to change old thinking and patterns of behavior and create change in positive ways.  There are political and economic forces that sometimes stand in the way of progress, but we do not have to allow these forces to prevent us from doing what we must.  Many individuals are moving forward with ideas to save our planet and creating supportive communities to make effective change.

One of the ways to avert this climate change crisis is to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.  To this end, it is possible to switch to renewable energy.  People all over the world are creating wind farms, working with tidal power, wave power, solar power, hydroelectricity, and geothermal power.  Our organization, Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar (PES) of San Clemente, CA. have successfully completed two solar projects: Oso Lake Boy Scout Camp Solar project, 2013 and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center Laguna Beach “Solar for Seals”, 2014.  ROSE and PES are currently working on a third solar project, “Solar for Non Profits” project for 2015.  We are committed to bringing people together in a community effort to provide solar power to non -profit organizations.  These organizations are already helping our social and environmental communities in various ways.  By assisting them with conversion to solar power, this adds another layer of depth to their commitment to bettering our world.

Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar (PES) have selected The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley (CSLCV) in San Clemente, CA. for our 3rd Solar Project 2015.  A 60 kW system consisting of 197 solar panels to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy will be built for the Center’s facility. As PES and ROSE and CSLCV donate our time and labor for this project, please join us in taking this environmental action as a citizen of the world. Be a part of the solution for our world’s clean and renewable energy future by donating today. The total cost of this project will be $135,000.00. The money the Center saves on energy costs will go to community projects. Your donation to this solar project will be greatly appreciated.

To help us, please use our Razoo fundraising site at:  https://www.razoo.com/story/Center-For-Spiritual-Living-Capistrano-Valley for your “tax deductible” donation.

“We are all flowers in the Great Spirit’s garden. We share a common root, and the root is Mother Earth.” Hopi Prophecy 

“The environment isn’t over here. The environment isn’t over there. You are the environment.” Chief Oren Lyons

It will take all of us working together now if we are to make a positive change for future generations.

Love, Gene and Joyce

ROSE and Planet Earth Solar 3rd Solar project 2015. Join with us.

Hello everyone,

Thinking back, we have not forgotten your kind help with our 2014 “Solar for Seals” project for Pacific Marine Mammal Center of Laguna Beach where we put 87 solar panels on their small roof.  It went so well we looked for a much bigger roof for 2015, and we found it.

We are happy to announce that Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar has selected The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley (CSLCV) in San Clemente, CA. for our 3rd Solar Project 2015.  A 60 kW system consisting of 197 solar panels to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy will be built for the Center’s facility. As Planet Earth Solar and ROSE and CSLCV donate our time and labor for this project, please join us in taking this environmental action as a citizen of the world. Be a part of the solution for our world’s clean and renewable energy future by donating today. The total cost of this project will be $135,000.00, saving the Center over $150,000.00 over other bids. You may donate to this Solar project in one of two ways.

1. Make your “tax deductible” check payable to “Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley” please mail check to Gene Stone 1203 Via Presa San Clemente 92672, so I can make sure to get your check into the Solar account at the center. Please note in the bottom left memo area of your check “Rose Solar project.” The check payment method will insure that 100% of your donation will go to the solar project, using the fundraising site we will lose 5% of your donation to Razoo.

2. Or use our Razoo funding raising site at for you “tax deductible” donation:

https://www.razoo.com/story/Center-For-Spiritual-Living-Capistrano-Valley

The Center’s Environmental statement:

“The Centers for Spiritual Living are committed to our vision of a world that works for everyone– a world in which resources are valued, cared for, and grown, and where there is generous and continuous sharing of these resources. A big part of that world is sustainable safe energy. At the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley in San Clemente California, we are contributing to this vision by installing a solar system to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy for our Center’s facility. We know that other spiritually minded people and organizations will want join us in taking this action for the betterment of all future generations. Not only will this new solar energy system provide our Center with safe sustainable energy, the cost savings recognized by lower energy bills will allow the Center to pursue numerous projects that will benefit our community.”

P.S. Please remember that it was this Center in San Clemente that gave ROSE such a great deal and made it so easy to do the Nuclear Symposium in October 2013.  They are willing and excited to help us with future events. We could not have done it with them.

The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley in San Clemente California, Planet Earth Solar and Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) thank you for your kind and generous donation towards our solar project.
With your action today, you join us in being part of a clean energy future and take a step towards helping manage climate change.  You are now part of the growing number of people around the world who are “being” the change. We are honored and happy to walk down this path with you.

Sincerely,

Gene Stone
Residents Organized For a Safe Environment (ROSE)

ACTION ALERT Request San Onofre Agenda Items Be Moved To Newport Beach Coastal Commision Meeting

SAVE TRESTLES! 

The California Coastal Commission meeting on changing the San Onofre spent fuel pool cooling system is still scheduled for Santa Barbara on May 14th.

Please request the Coastal Commission to change it to the Newport Beach meeting. 
The Coastal Commission needs to hear from more of you.  
They are getting pressure from Edison to speed up yet another experiment in nuclear waste dump managment.

Send request for meeting change to joseph.street@coastal.ca.gov

Subject:  Request to move Southern California Edison San Onofre agenda items to Newport Beach meeting

These waivers are for major changes to the San Onofre spent fuel cooling systems, air cooling systems and the ocean discharge systems. These are very significant issues.

Please move the decision on the Southern California Edison Coastal Development Permit Waivers (9-15-0417-W and 9-15-0162-W) from the May 14 Santa Barbara meeting to the June Newport Beach meeting.

It will take over 4 hours to drive to Santa Barbara from San Diego and over 3 hours from South Orange county.  Given the length of time and starting time of the meeting, this is an undue hardship for the people most impacted by these decisions. There doesn't appear to be any significant reason or legal deadline to justify this hardship.

The Coastal Commission website states:
The Commission meets once a month in different locations of the State in order to facilitate public participation. Staff attempts, whenever possible, to schedule matters for hearings that will be relatively close to the location of a proposed development. However, legal deadlines for action may require that the hearing on an item take place in a different area than the proposed project.

We don't know which day in June the waivers will be addressed. They do not list them on the agenda.  I do know they will be under the section labeled as:

ENERGY, OCEAN RESOURCES and FEDERAL CONSISTENCY.

Report by the Deputy Director on permit waivers, emergency permits, immaterial amendments & extensions, negative determinations, matters not requiring public hearings, and status report on offshore oil & gas exploration & development. For specific information contact the Commission’s Energy, Ocean Resources, and Federal Consistency Division office at (415) 904-5240.

Even if you don't plan to speak at the meeting, we need you to show up or at least write for the delay of the meeting.  The Coastal Commission is our friend, but not if we don't express an interest.

Here's the link to meeting rules.
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html#meetingRules

It doesn't appear the chillers Edison proposes are "nuclear grade chillers".  The Coastal Commission was told they are "commercial grade chillers".  And as usual, the NRC is not doing their job. They don't plan to inspect until after the new systems are installed, so we cannot count of them to even review this new method of cooling spent fuel pools filled with hot fuel that can boil the water out, if the pools are not kept cool. 

Using water chillers to cool spent pools appears to be another Edison experiment. In fact, We have found only one that used chillers and it had fuel that didn't need cooling.  Edison told the Coastal Commission that "chillers are commonly used in commercial industries" and that "spent fuel pool islands" have been used at nuclear plants.  However, these misleading statements don't mean that chillers are used for spent fuel pool island cooling.  We have asked both the NRC and Edison to provide me a list of nuclear spent fuel pools cooled with chillers. We do not have a response from either of them, even though we have requested this at the last CEP meeting.  We've followed up with Edison via email, but do not have a response yet.  

Here's a document that talks about methods of cooling spent fuel pools as well as how to save water use at nuclear plants.  It does not list water chillers for cooling spent fuel pools, even for decommissioned plants.  It even has information about Diablo Canyon and Palo Verde cooling systems and water use.

IAEA Technical Reports: Efficient Water Management in Water Cooled Reactors, No. NP-T-2.6, November 5, 2012

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/P1569_web.pdf