"San Onofre is a disaster waiting to happen..."
- Edward Maibach, PhD., Professor, George Mason University
Over 8 Million Californians Live Within 50 Mi. Of Stored Radioactive Waste
Admiral Hering reveals the dangers of NRC and Edison’s Mismanagement of Nuclear Waste at San Onofre
Inspection Activities
Decommissioning Lessons Learned Workshop
January 15, 2025 | Elise Eve, Team Leader, USNRC Region
Radiation Protection
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Failure to control airborne radioactivity
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Failure to implement adequate controls in alpha level 3A areas
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Unauthorized access to locked high radiation areas
Transportation
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Failure to ensure shipment was leakproof
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Failure to ensure packaging was appropriate for the contents being shipped Radioactive material shipment package dose rate exceeded
Fire Protection
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Failure to control fire hazards with transient combustible permit
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Failure to include fire dampers in fire protection program evaluation and fire pre-plans
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Failure to perform fire watch duties with trained personnel
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Failure to implement fire protection system impairment control procedure
Clear Solutions
MONITOR
Install most sensitive radiation and leak detection technology, from University of California San Diego
HOT CELL
Construct an on-site handling facility to repair and replace the thin metal canisters
MOVE
Move nuclear waste off the beach. San Onofre is geologically unstable with earthquakes faults, tsunami potential and wildfires
San Onofre Nuclear Waste Problems Report (2019)
Thomas English PhD, Subrata Chakraborty PhD, Len Hering Sr. RADM USN
The most serious issues concerning the storage of nuclear waste at S.O.N.G.S. include the damage done to the waste canisters when lowered into the storage vault. These 54-ton thin-walled steel canisters are loaded with nuclear waste and are transported to the on-site concrete storage vault.
The Guardian:
‘A combination of failures’
why 3.6m pounds of nuclear waste is buried on a popular California beach
Failures at San Onofre Nuclear power plant hit the front page of the The Guardian newspaper (2021).
In the article, reporter Kate Mishkin picks apart San Onofre’s political and regulatory gridlock, as well as a history of near accidents. This is one of the best summary of the dangerous decisions leading to the current crisis at San Onofre, an environmental disaster waiting to happen.
Potential Impact: A Waste Storage Accident Could Cost $13.4 Trillion
In early 2019 SLF released two expert reports on the potential economic impacts and the technical problems of the San Onofre nuclear waste storage. A collaboration of physicists, former military personnel, and engineers with considerable nuclear experience issued the reports.
A potential impact of a nuclear waste accident at San Onofre could exceed $13.4 trillion.
2020 S.O.N.G.S. Task Force Report
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Task Force Report was released this week after 18 months of fact-finding. SLF is proud to have joined scientists, policy makers and community leaders in preparing the document. Thanks so much to Rep. Mike Levin for bringing us together.
We will continue to appreciate his leadership as he advances eight key policy recommendations contained in the report.
We encourage you to review the report and share it widely:
San Onofre Radioactive Waste Poll Results
In February 2021, SLF collaborated with UCSD to survey registered voters in the County of San Diego and the County of Orange. The data makes clear that large majorities of registered voters in both counties are highly concerned about the potential consequences of storing radioactive waste at the San Onofre nuclear power plant and support more transparency form utility companies when it comes to radioactive waste storage.
The results further show that, after learning about the radioactive waste stored at San Onofre, an overwhelming majority support more aggressive federal, state, and local action to contain radioactive waste in order to protect the environment, the economy, and our communities.
Containment Challenges
"Is Health and Human Services Blocking Cancer Study?"
Cancer is the #2 killer in the US in 2023 per the CDC, and over 100 million Americans live near nuclear plants.
It recently came to light that the US Department of Health and Human Services declined to conduct a study of cancer around nuclear plants, even though Congress appropriated the money for it last year and directed HHS to carry it out. First the NRC and now HHS have blocked such studies for over a decade.
Federal Roundtable on Potential Health Effects Among Individuals Residing Near Nuclear Power Plants
February 14, 2023; 10 AM to 1 PM ET
Meeting Summary
Do Emissions from Nuclear Power Plants Cause Cancer?
Roger Johnson, PhD
Professor Emeritus, San Clemente, CA
Nuclear Colonization and International Security (2025)
Madeline Khawja, SLF Intern, SDSU ISCOR B.A. (IP)
This powerful paper explores how the global mismanagement of nuclear waste amounts to a form of nuclear colonization, where the environmental and health burdens fall disproportionately on marginalized and Indigenous communities. Drawing from international case studies—including sites in the U.S. and Kazakhstan—Madeline analyzes how structural inequalities, environmental racism, and weak global governance contribute to this injustice.
Framing the issue as both a human rights crisis and an international security threat, the paper calls for systemic reforms in nuclear governance and emphasizes the urgent need to center front-line communities in decision-making.
