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Nuclear Waste

Joint Letter: Opposition to Nuclear Waste Reprocessing in County 90-Day Report

SLF's joint advocacy letter to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors opposing the inclusion of nuclear waste "reprocessing" (marketed as "recycling") as a feasible solution for the waste at San Onofre.

Dec 2025
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2 views
Nuclear Waste

The Next Nuclear Renaissance?

Understand the economic implications of a new "nuclear renaissance" driven by Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Generation IV designs, new large reactors, and life-extension of existing plants.

Sep 2025
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2 views
Nuclear Waste

NRC Inspection Reports and Findings

We track and publish summaries of Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection reports for San Onofre. Recent inspections have noted scratched fuel canisters during loading operations and concerns about long-term corrosion in the marine environment.

#RES-002 ·
May 2025
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233 views
Nuclear Waste

What are Holtec thin-walled canisters?

Holtec UMAX canisters are 5/8-inch thick stainless steel containers used to store spent nuclear fuel at SONGS. Unlike thick-walled casks used internationally, these canisters have no inner liner, cannot be monitored internally, and are vulnerable to chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking from th

#FAQ-005 ·
Mar 2025
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265 views
Nuclear Waste

Why is nuclear waste stored at San Onofre a concern?

The waste is stored in an earthquake and tsunami zone, adjacent to 8.4 million residents within a 50-mile radius. The thin-walled Holtec canisters cannot be inspected for cracks, repaired, or monitored from the inside, creating long-term safety and environmental risks.

#FAQ-002 ·
Jan 2025
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296 views
Nuclear Waste

What is the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station?

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is a decommissioned nuclear power plant located on the coast of San Diego County, California. It operated from 1968 to 2013 and is currently storing 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste on-site in thin-walled canisters just 100 feet from the ocean.

#FAQ-001 ·
Jan 2025
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345 views
Nuclear Waste

Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2024 (H.R. 118th Congress)

Proposed by Mike Levin in 2024, this bill would replace DOE's current nuclear waste management structure with a new independent federal agency and establish a consent-based siting process.

Sep 2024
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

SLF v. California Coastal Commission (Case No. 19STCP05431)

Tentative ruling denying SLF's petition challenging the California Coastal Commission's approval of a Coastal Development Permit for the SONGS decommissioning project.

Jun 2021
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

San Onofre Radioactive Waste Poll Results

Public opinion survey (n=1,000 registered voters, San Diego and Orange County) finding broad public concern and low trust regarding SONGS radioactive waste storage.

Mar 2021
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

SONGS Task Force Report (2019-2020)

Comprehensive task force report analyzing safety, regulatory, and policy challenges around spent nuclear fuel storage at SONGS. Outlines 29 findings and 30 recommendations across five areas.

Mar 2020
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

San Onofre Nuclear Waste Problems

SLF-authored technical report identifying three core risk categories at SONGS' dry-cask spent fuel storage: poor location, poor technology, and poor management.

Jan 2019
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

Economic Consequences from an Event at SONGS Interim Spent Fuel Storage

This whitepaper models the economic fallout of a radiological release from SONGS' spent fuel storage facility on the three-county Southern California region using IMPLAN economic modeling.

Jan 2019
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

Decommissioning Nuclear Plants: What Congress, Agencies & Communities Need

Backgrounder compiling coalition views on nuclear plant decommissioning risks, methods, waste disposition, funding adequacy, and lack of state/local oversight. Includes dedicated SONGS case study.

Jul 2018
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

Burning Waste or Playing with Fire? Waste Mgmt for Non-Traditional Reactors

Peer-reviewed article arguing that molten salt reactors and sodium-cooled fast reactors will actually worsen waste management challenges due to unusual and highly reactive fuel chemistry.

Jan 2018
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

Nuclear Reprocessing: Dangerous, Dirty, and Expensive

UCS explainer arguing against reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, contending it fails to solve the waste problem while increasing proliferation and terrorism risks.

Apr 2011
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1 views
Nuclear Waste

Economics of Reprocessing vs. Direct Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel

Analysis comparing the economics of reprocessing versus direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel from the Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School.

Dec 2003
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1 views
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