Cut Off Nears for Comments on Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage

0
570

Editor,

Laguna Beach is located within the 20-square-mile area subject to permanent relocation in the event of a radiation accident at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which has been closed because of safety concerns. The plant is situated in a recognized tsunami, earthquake, and firestorm zone and is vulnerable to climate change and terrorist attack. The 1,632 tons of spent fuel now stored on the site will remain highly radioactive for tens of thousands of generations.

We were promised when the plant was constructed that the spent fuel rods would be removed from the site, but the current plan permits them to be stored on the site for 60 years or indefinitely until a federal repository for them has been created. At the same time, the roads and railroad spurs and the equipment necessary for the transfer of the fuel rods to a safe repository are scheduled to be removed by 2032, and there is no funding for storage after 2048.

A better idea would be to move the spent fuel rods to a secure interim location, perhaps a military base or some other sparsely populated area, before the decommissioning of the plant is considered complete and to hold Southern California Edison responsible for their safety and security as long as they remain at San Onofre.

We have until Dec. 22 to let the Nuclear Regulatory Commission know that we don’t want a radioactive waste dump in our backyard. The address is U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attn: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, NRC, Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

Barbara Metzger, Laguna Beach

Share this:

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here