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Unit 2 turbine building demolition begins

Work began earlier this month to dismantle the Unit 2 turbine building. Previously, the turbine rotors, generator and other items were removed from the turbine deck, and other work was done inside the building to prepare it for demolition. So far, the excavators have removed the gantry crane rails and nearly completed demolition of the "full flow" section of the structure.

(Above) Workers use a "dust boss" water sprayer to keep down the dust that may be kicked-up during demolition activities. (Below) SCE's Frank Pavia walks you through the process of how the initial dismantlement work began.

Unit 2 reactor vessel head making the journey to final disposal

During this dismantlement phase of decommissioning SONGS, more than 5,000 railcars will leave the site bound for destinations outside of California. They will carry all manner of material, from crushed concrete to cut steel. But a few loads will need to go out on their own due to the size and weight of the component. One such load—the Unit 2 reactor pressure vessel head—has left the site (exact schedules and routes are not publicly disclosed) bound for the EnergySolutions disposal facility in Clive, Utah. Read more here.

The team safely loaded and secured the Unit 2 reactor vessel head for its trip to Utah.

Cement trucks make a delivery

For about 11 hours the other week, 36 trucks safely rolled through the site, feeding two pumper trucks with enough cement to fill a 330 cubic yard grout bag designed to “plug” the Unit 2 intake structure, isolating it from the ocean. The next steps include dewatering the intake/forebay, removing any residual material to drying beds, conducting a radiological survey of the structure, and then backfilling with material to stabilize the area. Learn more about the work completed in the second quarter in our quarterly decommissioning update.

Cement trucks delivering their loads so dismantlement work can continue on the intake structures.

A Tour of SONGS - On July 14, we welcomed California District 73 Assemblywoman Laurie Davies and Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (District 3 – Yuba City) to SONGS for a tour of the spent fuel storage facility. Davies wrote to constituents following the tour that while she is confident the spent fuel at SONGS is “being stored safely and responsibly … we need to get the spent fuel out of San Onofre” and into a federal repository as soon as possible.

Next Community Engagement Panel meeting focuses on dismantlement progress

The next SONGS Community Engagement Panel meeting will include a detailed briefing from the SONGS decommissioning contractor on dismantlement activities and progress to date. The meeting will take place Thursday, August 11, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Information for joining this virtual meeting is available on the SONGS Community website here.

A trip down memory lane with Unit 1

A recent question asked at one of our speakers bureau events: why is SONGS located where it is? Well, we have the answer to that question and more fun facts in a recent Decomm Digest blog post on Unit 1. The San Onofre site has been home to three nuclear reactors in its history. The iconic domes of Units 2 and 3 grabbed the spotlight as soon as they went operational in 1983 and 1984, respectively. But a pioneer for nuclear energy on the Southern California coast, and the U.S., was Unit 1, a 395-megawatt plant built by Bechtel Corporation with a design by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Unit 1 was permanently retired in 1992 after the California Public Utilities Commission determined that the costs of necessary upgrades to the plant could not be justified. Join us for a look back at some Unit 1 history.

Pushback against misinformation continues

Keeping statements about spent nuclear fuel storage based on science and data.     We are committed to providing science-based information about spent nuclear fuel to the public, as noted in an op-ed we submitted to the Voice of OC last month. Our piece triggered some additional feedback from the anti-nuclear community.   Renowned nuclear waste expert and former Forbes contributor Dr. James Conca (pictured at right) penned a response to Sarah Mosko’s Op-Ed, once again bringing both the facts and the data to bear. Dr. Conca's piece is available here.

A second helping of Radioactive Drew

Last month we shared YouTube creator Andrew Walker's first video on SONGS, which focused on decommissioning. Radioactive Drew's next video takes you inside the Unit 3 spent fuel pool building and onto the spent fuel storage pad. Walker has dedicated his YouTube channel to helping inform the public about radiation. We appreciated the opportunity to host him at SONGS.

Nuclear News Briefs

From the World Nuclear Association:  Nuclear reactors generated a total of 2653 TWh in 2021, up 100 TWh from 2553 TWh in 2020. This is the third highest ever total for global generation from nuclear, just short of the 2657 TWh output of 2019 and 2660 TWh in 2006, and reestablishes the upward trend in nuclear generation seen since 2012, following a decline in 2020.

Just for fun...

Hey kids! Who wants to learn about nuclear energy? Well, for a while you could right in your own home. The Twitter user @OperadorNuclear offers the background on the Atomic Energy Lab toy and its inventor: The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was a game released by the AC Gilbert Company in the US in 1950 for children to experiment with nuclear reactions using radioactive material.  Alfred Carlton Gilbert (1884-1961) was an athlete (Olympic pole vault champion in London 1908), magician and toymaker. Gilbert believed that toys were the foundation for building "strong American character," which is why many of his creations were educational. Gilbert was dubbed "the man who saved Christmas" during World War I, when he convinced the US National Defense Council not to ban the purchase of toys during Christmas. His action was made into a TV movie in 2008. The Gilbert Atomic Energy Laboratory was one of many chemical reaction kits on the market. For parents, it fueled the idea that games' use of chemical reactions would propel their children toward a career in science or engineering. Only about 5,000 copies were sold between 1950 and 1951. Gilbert believed that it was not commercially successful because it was more appropriate for people with training in the field.

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