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"Several dozen residents Tuesday urged the San Clemente City Council to adopt an official resolution calling for the shutdown of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, among other measures. "We should learn from the mistakes of others so we don't repeat them," said Karen Tanner of Capistrano Beach. She spoke on behalf of the Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment. The anti-nuclear power sentiment has been inflamed since the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan earlier this spring."

A new, $64 million study of earthquake fault patterns around the San Onofre nuclear plant will be proposed Friday by Southern California Edison, its scope broadened and its cost estimate more than doubled because of the nuclear disaster in Japan. Edison will propose the study to the California Energy Commission; if approved, it would be paid for through customer rates, although Edison says that would add up to less than one percent of present overall rates. ADVERTISEMENT More from Science Rocket launched from Vandenberg Sunnier skies kick off warming spell Toxic mystery unfolds in Newport Beach The study will use state-of-the-art technology, characterizing in three dimensional detail the sea floor near the coastal plant and the geological picture beneath the land surface. Edison is still evaluating what type of technology to use, but sonar would likely be used to map the ocean floor near the nuclear plant, while seismic vibration measurements as well as lidar, which uses light beamed from planes, would be used on land.

KPFA Weekend News Anchor Anthony Fest: California has two operating nuclear power plants, San Onofre in Orange County, and PG&E's Diablo Canyon Plant in San Luis Obispo County, on the Central Coast.   Both are on the coastline and both are built near earthquake faults.  State Senator Alex Padilla has called for a special hearing at the State capitol on April 14 to examine the risks the two aging plants might pose.  KPFA's Ann Garrison has the story. PG&E's Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant on the California Coast KPFA/Ann Garrison: For the past five years the San Luis Obispo-based Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility has been urging California legislators and oversight agencies to require peer reviewed seismic studies to measure the risk of earthquake damage to Pacific Gas and Electric's (PG&E's) nuclear power plant at Diablo Canyon and Southern California Edison's plant at San Onofre. The California Energy Commission has requested that the California Public Utilities Commission require PG&E do the latest, advanced 3-D studies on both old and new earthquake faults beneath Diablo Canyon before granting any ratepayer funding for its license renewal applications, but PG&E has opposed and fought the requirement to do the studies, and the CPUC has failed to act. Rochelle Becker, Executive Director of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, says that Japan's worsening nuclear catastrophe could have been California's, and that Californians should be able to insist that the studies be done now.

I was appalled at the NRC chairman Jaczko's press briefing yesterday when asked point blank how many nuclear reactors in the US were near faults… Instead of answering the question he said that all reactors near faults designed withstand both quakes and tsunami events. There was no follow-up question as to whether or not this country's evacuation plans would do any better than Japans.

"New nuclear reactor designs on the horizon have won the favor of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but don't expect to see them in Southern California anytime soon. Nuclear scientists and engineers gathered for a conference in San Diego earlier this month to talk about advances in the field. Although the new designs are billed as safer and more efficient, it is unlikely that Southern California Edison will spend the billions necessary to upgrade the two aging reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which sits on the coast about 18 miles north of Oceanside, observers and officials said last week. Those reactors started operating in 1982 and are licensed to continue until 2022."

"It will take another three years for state water officials to determine whether nuclear power plants like the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station are required to install dozens of cooling towers so as to avoid using ocean water for cooling. Following an all-day hearing Tuesday, board members with the state Water Quality Control Board unanimously passed new regulations for the state's 19 coastal power plants. The regulations require plants using ocean water for cooling to reduce their intake by more than 90 percent in order to dramatically reduce the amount of fish and fish eggs that are taken from the Pacific Ocean and killed in the process of generating electricity. However, reducing water intake requires the use of evaporative cooling towers that expose hot water to cool air in a continuous loop. Closed cooling tower systems are estimated to use only about 5 percent as much water at the "once through" systems currently used by most plants."

* Rules to force closure, changes at 19 power plants * Compliance dates stretch past 2020 for nuclear plants HOUSTON, May 5 (Reuters) - California water resource regulators, seeking to protect marine life, approved a policy late Tuesday that will force closure or costly changes at 19 coastal power plants that now use ocean water to cool equipment. The policy affects power plants totaling 23,000 megawatts, or more than a third of the installed capacity in the state, including California's two nuclear stations, Southern California Edison's (EIX.N) 2,150-megawatt San Onofre nuclear station near San Diego and PG&E Corp's (PCG.N) 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon station north of Los Angeles. The contentious policy to replace "once-through cooling systems" has been under development for about five years. It involved input from state environmental and power-related agencies, consumer groups opposed to local plants and marine protection groups."

"State considers whether cooling systems that harm environment should be phased out New state rules would require that the cooling system used at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant be phased out within the next 15 years, but would allow plant managers to apply for alternatives that reduce cost. The goal of the rules is to eliminate the method known as once-through cooling, which uses billions of gallons of ocean water daily to cool electrical steam generators. State water officials consider once-through cooling used by 19 coastal power plants to be too damaging to the ocean environment. "Ultimately, once-through cooling has got to go," said Dave Clegern, spokesman for the State Water Resources Control Board. The rules would allow Diablo Canyon, owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and a nuclear plant at San Onofre to apply for less stringent requirements to offset the damage of their cooling systems if eliminating once-through cooling is determined to be "wholly out of proportion to the cost.""

"Tonight in Dana Point, California, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be holding its annual hearing on the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station's recent performance, which has been lousy. They'll give San Onofre an overall "B" where it should be getting a failing grade. San Onofre should never have opened, and should be closed for good immediately. For safety. For economics. Forever. At the hearing, the public will be allowed to speak for two, maybe three minutes each. Nothing said by the public will be considered. Nothing will be under oath. Nothing will be officially recorded. Only a few reporters will show up, who will dutifully interview the spokespeople for San Onofre and the NRC, and perhaps one or two of the most staid activists, and then they'll report whatever platitudes are said as if they are facts. The plant is safe, they'll say."

"Nuclear power plant workers concerned about how things are being done - but who don't feel comfortable reporting that information to their bosses - can do an end run around management, and report their concerns directly to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC calls this its "Allegation Program," and it keeps track of the number of reports made. Worried employees at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station are, er, "winning" - they contacted the NRC more often than their colleagues at any other nuclear power plant in the nation over the past five years, NRC statistics show. Between 2006 and 2010, there were 95 end-runs around management at SONGS, compared to 47 at California's only other nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon. There were only five such reports from the Calvert Cliffs plants in Maryland over the same period. (See reactor-by-reactor stats here: Reactor allegations.)"

"In a new report card issued to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, federal regulators once again criticize the seaside power plant for failing to make sure that workers meticulously follow procedures designed to head off safety problems. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released on Friday its latest annual assessment of the plant. Overall, the assessment says that San Onofre is operated in a way that preserves public health and safety, but it also notes that ongoing flaws in worker performance remain. The commission will brief the public on the assessment during a meeting March 24 at the Dana Point Doubletree Hotel."

"An internal memo from Southern California Edison, leaked to a San Clemente activist group, indicates that fear of retaliation still exists at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, despite repeated public statements calling for openness by top plant leadership. The memo, released by the environmental group San Clemente Green, is dated Feb. 2 and appears to have been written by an Edison employee in advance of a meeting between Southern California Edison executives and Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors who conducted an inspection at San Onofre in November. Though the NRC eventually releases the results of its inspections, it has not yet done so for the one that occurred in November 2009. The memo states that inspectors, meeting in focus groups with plant employees, found that 25 percent of those surveyed said they fear retaliation from plant management for raising safety concerns to federal regulators. The memo also indicates that, in 2008, reports from San Onofre employees to the NRC were six times higher than the industry median."

"Employees at the San Onofre nuclear plant made 10 times more safety complaints in 2009 than the mid-range level for the industry, according to a leaked management memo posted online by a local environmental group. The same memo said a quarter of the employees fear retaliation from management if they call attention to safety problems. The number of complaints made by employees does not necessarily correspond to actual safety problems. And, while the San Onofre plant remains under scrutiny by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a variety of procedural and personnel issues, the agency has repeatedly said the plant is being operated safely."

"A local environmental group is rallying its members and supporters to appear at tonight's San Clemente City Council meeting to question whether it is safe to restart the shut-down Unit 2 reactor at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The City Council has scheduled an appearance by Greg Warwick, senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission resident inspector at San Onofre, to report on safety at the power plant just south of town. Southern California Edison shut off the reactor in September for refueling and to swap out two aging 640-ton steam generators. On Jan. 19, Gary Headrick, founder of San Clemente Green, asked for the city's support in delaying reactivation of Unit 2 until there is assurance it is safe. He cited reports about concerns of some employees at the plant, air pockets in some welds on one of the new steam generators and NRC investigations into safety practices at San Onofre."

"A rash of recent failures in the buried piping systems of nuclear reactors - including one at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station - has prompted three congressmen to ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate "the integrity, safety, inspection, maintenance, regulations and enforcement issues surrounding buried piping at our nation's nuclear power plants," according to a public statement Thursday. "Under current regulations, miles and miles of buried pipes within nuclear reactors have never been inspected and will likely never be inspected," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. (who chairs the Energy and Environment Subcommittee) in the statement. "This is simply unacceptable. As it stands, the NRC requires - at most - a single, spot inspection of the buried piping systems no more than once every 10 years. This cannot possibly be sufficient to ensure the safety of both the public and the plant.""

"Officials say poor welding work and pin-hole leaks are keeping one of the San Onofre's nuclear reactors from returning to service. That's not the only safety issue the plant has recently faced. Plant officials told our media partner The North County Times that the reactor's leak problems have now been repaired. Unfortunately, they have delayed the reactor from returning to service by about three weeks. And in an unrelated incident, a report surfaced this week that plant officials waited more than two weeks before reporting a minor safety issue to federal regulators. "

Members of the state's main energy policy and planning agency spoke out against the decision by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to apply to renew the company's operating license for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant before addressing their concerns. The topic came up at a Dec. 16 California Energy Commission (CEC) hearing in Sacramento for the adoption of he 2009 Integrated Energy Policy Report, which outlines and analyzes energy-related issues affecting the state. CEC Vice Chair James Boyd chastised PG&E and contrasted their behavior with that of Southern California Edison Co., which operates the nuclear generating station in San Onofre. "I'm very disappointed … with what PG&E has done," CEC Vice Chair James Boyd said at the hearing. "I think now it's time to single out Edison for their statement of wanting to collaborate and cooperate on all the commitments while another utility has chosen to … kind of go around behind us. "I can't speak for Commissioner [Jeffrey] Byron, but I for one know there was great disappointment with that action," Boyd said. "But we'll address it in due time."

Members of the state's main energy policy and planning agency spoke out against the decision by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to apply to renew the company's operating license for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant before addressing their concerns. The topic came up at a Dec. 16 California Energy Commission (CEC) hearing in Sacramento for the adoption of he 2009 Integrated Energy Policy Report, which outlines and analyzes energy-related issues affecting the state. CEC Vice Chair James Boyd chastised PG&E and contrasted their behavior with that of Southern California Edison Co., which operates the nuclear generating station in San Onofre. "I'm very disappointed … with what PG&E has done," CEC Vice Chair James Boyd said at the hearing. "I think now it's time to single out Edison for their statement of wanting to collaborate and cooperate on all the commitments while another utility has chosen to … kind of go around behind us. "I can't speak for Commissioner [Jeffrey] Byron, but I for one know there was great disappointment with that action," Boyd said. "But we'll address it in due time."

Southern California Edison declared an unusual event at the 1,080-megawatt Unit 3 at San Onofre nuclear power station in California due to both emergency diesel generators being inoperable, the company told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a report. Operators started to shut the unit but returned it to nearly full power after fixing the problem. The unit started at full power on Dec. 12 and was cut to at least 90 percent. It was back to 99 percent power early Monday. An unusual event is the lowest of the NRC's four emergency classifications. San Onofre is located in San Clemente in San Diego County about 60 miles (96 km) north of San Diego.

Southern California Edison declared an unusual event at the 1,080-megawatt Unit 3 at San Onofre nuclear power station in California due to both emergency diesel generators being inoperable, the company told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a report. Operators started to shut the unit but returned it to nearly full power after fixing the problem. The unit started at full power on Dec. 12 and was cut to at least 90 percent. It was back to 99 percent power early Monday. An unusual event is the lowest of the NRC's four emergency classifications. San Onofre is located in San Clemente in San Diego County about 60 miles (96 km) north of San Diego.

Veteran Managers at SONGS Nuclear Power Plant near San Clemente Say Southern California Edison Retaliated When They Reported Nuclear Safety Concerns SAN ONOFRE, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In whistleblower complaints filed this week with the U.S. Department of Labor, two managers at Southern California Edison's San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) say the company violated federal law when it retaliated against them for raising nuclear safety concerns. Rick Busnardo and Mike Mason have worked at SONGS for 25 and 29 years respectively, and together manage the fabrication shop that builds steel casks for the long-term storage of the plant's spent fuel rods. The integrity of the casks is critical because the spent fuel remains highly radioactive for hundreds of years. Busnardo and Mason allege that trouble began when they reported a "willful violation" of nuclear-safety standards to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in October 2008, after learning that a fabricator in their shop had performed welding operations that fell short of the plants' quality-assurance specifications. Busnardo and Mason believe their report angered Edison management because the NRC had cited the SONGS plant for a high level of such willful violations several months earlier, and the company wanted to avoid further scrutiny.

Veteran Managers at SONGS Nuclear Power Plant near San Clemente Say Southern California Edison Retaliated When They Reported Nuclear Safety Concerns SAN ONOFRE, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In whistleblower complaints filed this week with the U.S. Department of Labor, two managers at Southern California Edison's San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) say the company violated federal law when it retaliated against them for raising nuclear safety concerns. Rick Busnardo and Mike Mason have worked at SONGS for 25 and 29 years respectively, and together manage the fabrication shop that builds steel casks for the long-term storage of the plant's spent fuel rods. The integrity of the casks is critical because the spent fuel remains highly radioactive for hundreds of years. Busnardo and Mason allege that trouble began when they reported a "willful violation" of nuclear-safety standards to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in October 2008, after learning that a fabricator in their shop had performed welding operations that fell short of the plants' quality-assurance specifications. Busnardo and Mason believe their report angered Edison management because the NRC had cited the SONGS plant for a high level of such willful violations several months earlier, and the company wanted to avoid further scrutiny.

Earlier this month, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a hearing in Dana Point regarding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, commonly known as SONGS. At the hearing, Southern California Edison claimed it is doing everything necessary to fix the "culture of cover-up" that exists - ahem, pardon me - existed at the plant. But in reality, firing about 70 percent of the staff did not fix it, and nor has anything else. Not only does that culture of cover-up still exist, but actually, it is a necessary component of the operation in the eyes of everyone who works there. Because they'll get in trouble if the media or the public find out what leaks, what cracks, what drops, what bursts, what spills, who gets contaminated, or by how much. Especially when it's you getting contaminated - they don't want to tell you that. Nor do the so-called "regulators."

Earlier this month, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a hearing in Dana Point regarding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, commonly known as SONGS. At the hearing, Southern California Edison claimed it is doing everything necessary to fix the "culture of cover-up" that exists - ahem, pardon me - existed at the plant. But in reality, firing about 70 percent of the staff did not fix it, and nor has anything else. Not only does that culture of cover-up still exist, but actually, it is a necessary component of the operation in the eyes of everyone who works there. Because they'll get in trouble if the media or the public find out what leaks, what cracks, what drops, what bursts, what spills, who gets contaminated, or by how much. Especially when it's you getting contaminated - they don't want to tell you that. Nor do the so-called "regulators."