Edison agrees to negotiate new home for nuclear waste from San Onofre
Owners of the failed San Onofre nuclear plant agreed Friday to begin negotiations aimed at relocating tons of radioactive waste from the San Diego County coastline.
The dramatic announcement came in the form of a brief filed in San Diego Superior Court, where a showdown hearing was looming next week between majority plant owner Southern California Edison and environmentalists who want the spent fuel shipped offsite.
The change of heart is significant for Edison, which has said for years that storing 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste on the grounds of the failed power plant for decades to come is a safe and reasonable option.
The San Diego nonprofit Citizens Oversight sued Edison and the California Coastal Commission in 2015 after regulators approved development of a storage facility within 100 feet of the shoreline. Ref. Source 6u.
Court settlement looks to move nuclear waste from San Onofre. The operators of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) promised Monday to make a good faith effort to find a location to move the 3.55 million pounds of nuclear waste that has accumulated on the plant’s premises, between the Pacific Ocean and one of the busiest freeways in the country. Source 8d.
Nuclear power receives its death sentence in California: Regulators vote to shut down Diablo Canyon. The last remaining nuclear power plant in California will begin shutting down operations in six years, after state regulators Thursday unanimously approved a plan outlining details of the closure. Source 5c.
Incident at San Onofre nuclear plant prompts additional training measures. The utility operating the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station confirmed an incident occurred last week involving a canister containing spent nuclear fuel and has directed the contractor in charge of transferring the fuel to “take corrective actions, including additional training.” Source 2b.