We want to make sure you receive the latest information about what's happening at SONGS, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
From time to time, we'll send you an email with updates on the work taking place on site; information about the Community Engagement Panel; and important news and policy updates regarding finding an off-site location for SONGS spent nuclear fuel.
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Note: If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please opt-out below. |
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Energy Secretary Visits SONGS |
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On Thursday April 21, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited SONGS for a tour of the spent fuel storage facility. Edison International President and CEO Pedro Pizarro (left) and Rep. Mike Levin joined the secretary for the tour.
Following the brief tour, all three made remarks and answered questions from reporters.
The Department of Energy has been working on developing a consent-based siting framework for a new national spent fuel storage facility.
During her comments, Sec. Granholm said "we know how to store nuclear waste safely. The question is where to do it. And so, as things stand today, the communities surrounding our spent nuclear fuel operations, they never signed up to play host for the long-term."
Pizarro thanked both the secretary and the congressman for their work in this area.
"Southern California Edison has put in place robust storage systems that will protect the fuel, the environment and the surrounding community as long as the fuel is here. And this is our community, too," Pizarro said.
Watch the full news conference video here.
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Secretary Granholm reaches out to feel the warm air coming from a stored canister of spent nuclear fuel during her tour of the Holtec UMAX storage facility. |
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Ten media outlets from throughout Southern California were on hand to cover the event. A sampling of stories can be found at the links below:
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Decommissioning update: progress and pause |
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On April 11, work paused on site following an injury to one of our contract workers. We are pleased to report they are at home and recovering from a shoulder injury, but the full-scope of work on site has not resumed as our decommissioning contractor reviews the incident and formulates corrective actions.
In a website posting, Doug Bauder, SCE vice president and chief nuclear officer, said “It is important for us as an organization to fully understand what happened, what may have led up to the incident and, ultimately, how these safety events can be prevented in the future."
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Latest dismantlement videos |
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The Unit 3 high pressure turbine was removed from its spot on the turbine deck in preparation for segmenting and shipping offsite for recycling. The more than 123,000-pound load was moved safely. |
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The High Flow Makeup Demineralizer System was designed to remove dissolved ions and organic matter, filter out suspended silt and de-aerate the water supplied by offsite domestic water service. Three Demineralized Water Storage Tanks were also part of the system and capable of storing up to 535,000 gallons each. During operation it was used for the reactor coolant system and other nuclear service water needs. Post shutdown it primarily stored water for spent fuel pool additions due to evaporation. |
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First GTCC canister stored safely |
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On April 16, the first stainless steel canister containing the Greater-Than-Class-C material from the Unit 2 spent fuel pool was transferred to the dry fuel storage pad and loaded into the TN-NUHOMS storage system. Additional modules had previously been added to the system to accommodate the new GTCC canisters.
Safety will be the top priority as the team works through the process of storing all 12 canisters. Some of the team members have deep experience with the process of loading and storing the NUHOMS canisters, having worked on the initial spent fuel loading campaigns for the system.
The team is using lessons-learned from those previous campaigns as well as the Holtec campaign that was completed in August 2020.
"We have a strong level of experience with this crew and good supervisory oversight through every step of the process," said Jerry Stephenson, ISFSI (Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation) engineering manager.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has established various classifications of low-level radioactive waste: Class A, B, C and GTCC. GTCC is stored on site and will be relocated with spent nuclear fuel when a national repository is available.
The SONGS GTCC campaign is expected to be completed in 2023.
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Water batch releases re-start |
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Earlier this week, SONGS released approximately 95,600 gallons of slightly radioactive water through the Unit 2 discharge conduit.
This was the first batch release to take place in 2022. None took place last year and one more is scheduled in the weeks ahead.
We posted the 48-hour notification on Saturday as required. We also shared a blog post on our website which featured a photo of a water sample taken prior to release (see photo above).
If you have questions about these releases we would encourage you to visit our website and read the FAQs which provide helpful information.
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Washington Post Magazine takes in-depth look at spent nuclear fuel storage issue |
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The Washington Post Magazine published an in-depth piece on the issue of spent nuclear fuel storage in the U.S.
The reporter, Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, visited SONGS and toured the spent fuel storage systems.
The article quoted SONGS ISFSI Engineering Manager Jerry Stephenson:
Out on the concrete pad, in my immediate vicinity, I could see a partially demolished industrial site; farther out, it looked like a commercial for a seaside vacation. The pad is elevated above sea level, but the ocean is about 100 feet away, behind a sea wall. “Dry fuel storage is very self-sufficient,” Stephenson said. “There’s no fans, there’s no cooling systems; it just sits there, fat, dumb and happy, as I like to say.”
Read the full article here.
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Photographer Craig Cutler lines up a shot for for the Washington Post Magazine feature on spent nuclear fuel storage. |
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Go inside Finland's deep geologic storage repository |
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The Huffington Post published a piece April 23 on Finland's effort to construct a deep geologic repository for its spent nuclear fuel.
Finland recently started up a new nuclear reactor to join its existing fleet.
Now it is leading the world on a permanent storage solution.
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Next Community Engagement Panel meeting May 19 |
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The next quarterly meeting of the SONGS Community Engagement Panel will take place May 19 at 5:30 p.m. It will be a virtual meeting. Details on how to join the meeting are available here.
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Did you know?
A natural nuclear reactor operated more than two billion years ago in Africa.
Learn about Oklo.
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Safety, Stewardship, Engagement. | www.SONGScommunity.com |
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