March 19, 2026

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San Diego Union-Tribune

Publishes Our Op-Ed

This weekend, the San Diego Union-Tribune published our op-ed responding to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors' 90-day report exploring reprocessing as a solution to San Onofre's 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste. Our piece showed that reprocessing actually makes more waste, makes the waste harder to manage, heightens national security risks, and is just too expensive. The County agreed, acknowledging that reprocessing is historically cost-prohibitive, raises serious plutonium security concerns, and may not be a strategically viable path forward.

TODAY: San Onofre Community Engagement Panel Meeting

The San Onofre Community Engagement Panel (CEP) meets today, Thursday, March 19, 2:00–4:30 PM (PT). The CEP will provide updates on decommissioning and the Department of Energy will present its plan to ship high burnup spent fuel– like the waste at San Onofre– to Idaho National Laboratory for testing. Serious questions remain about whether transport casks are adequate for fuel this damaged, and what risks communities along the route face.



Submit questions in advance to nuccomm@songs.sce.com or sign up to speak.

U.S. Government Meeting on Deregulation: A Disheartening Display

On March 12, the National Regulatory Commission (NRC) held a public meeting on its implementation of the Executive Order 14300 directing the agency to overhaul its nuclear safety regulations to fast-track rulemaking within 9 months and finalizing rules within 18. The NRC outlined its rulemaking and implementation timelines, noting that the accelerated schedule reflects long-standing planning efforts and ongoing collaboration with other agencies, despite its status as an independent agency. During the Q&A, many people raised concerns and asked why standards like the well-established linear no-threshold model are being revisited. NRC made it clear that they are reacting to the executive order and asked for the public to wait for the rules to be published. 

When the rules do come out, the public will only have 30 days to comment on rules that will take years, and generations, to live with. The NRC routinely posts their deadlines for comments and rules, but they are constantly changing, so be sure to check their website for the latest updates.

Watch: Debunking “Advanced” Nuclear

Dr. Gordon Edwards, one of North America's leading nuclear experts, delivers hard truths behind the nuclear industry's latest promises. Nuclear power is losing ground. Over the past 25 years, its share of global electricity fell from 17% to 9%.



Dr. Edwards also breaks down why fusion remains far from commercially viable, and why every dollar and year spent chasing nuclear distractions is a dollar and year not spent on the renewables we already have.

New Report: Nuclear Cleanup Costs Balloon to Over Half a Trillion Dollars

A new Government Accountability Office report finds that the cost of cleaning up old Department of Energy nuclear sites has soared by $75 billion in just the last four years and that these efforts are at high risk for fraud, waste, and abuse.

The Department of Energy is the government's single largest environmental liability, primarily driven by staggering costs retrieving, treating, and disposing of decades of nuclear and radioactive waste. The report estimates that the DOE could save up to $18 billion at the Hanford Site alone, simply by cementing them into place instead of taking them out. Leaving waste where it is may be cheaper than moving it.

The Fight to Keep Nuclear Reactors Under Environmental Review

California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 12 states to oppose a Trump rule that would let new “advanced” nuclear reactors skip environmental reviews meant to protect public health and safety

AG Bonta said: "The words 'exemptions, exclusions,' and 'nuclear safety regulations' should never be put together." The coalition argues the rule violates federal law and strips the public of its right to scrutinize projects with serious environmental consequences.

SLF also submitted formal comments in concern for environmental protection and safety, arguing that the Department of Energy bypassed required public notice-and-comment procedures. We also highlighted important concerns about exempting next-generation reactors—which are not yet proven at commercial scale and may generate more radioactive waste per unit of energy—from environmental review, underscoring the need for continued oversight to protect communities.

Fukushima: The Disaster That Never Ended

This month marks 15 years since the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi. Professor Thomas A. Bass traveled to the exclusion zone for this devastating long-form piece. By the numbers, here’s what he found: 

• 4,000 workers struggling to control ongoing disaster
• 62 radionuclides contaminating cooling water dumped into the Pacific
• 1,000 times higher thyroid cancer rates in children
• $1 trillion+ possible final cleanup bill
• 100 years+ estimated cleanup time

Meanwhile, Japan is pushing to restart more reactors.

Upcoming Events

March 20: FREE TICKETS to Blue Water Film Festival at The Lot in La Jolla.

Email mary@waltermunkfoundation.org for free tickets to these films: 

• 2:30PM KULEANA takes you on a cinematic journey of discovery deep into the plastic pollution crisis engulfing Hawaii.
• 7:30PM Scars of Growth - a documentary exploring Europe’s green transition and mining’s hidden costs.

March 25: 47 Years After Three Mile Island Accident.

Tune in for an all-star panel including Mary Olson, Dr. Gordon Edwards, and Eric Epstein. They will discuss radiation’s health impacts and the alarming push to restart Three Mile Island. REGISTER HERE

March 26: A Myth Made of Air.

Join a night of flute and chamber music featuring Rose Lombardo, Principal Flute of the San Diego Symphony. 7:30PM at the Athenaeum in La Jolla. BUY TICKETS

Show Up & Speak Out

→ Share our message, attend events, and help grow awareness in your community.

Contact Your County Supervisor

→ Demand stronger oversight of waste storage in your region.

Please Volunteer With Us!

→ Join us at tabling events, conferences, and more!

Support Federal Legislation

→ Back Rep. Mike Levin’s push in Congress for long-term nuclear waste solutions.

Join the Movement!

→ Partner with SLF in our grassroots campaign for safety and accountability.

Find a template to contact your reps here.

→ Or email us at admin@samuellawrencefoundation.org to get involved.

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