Federal Action Vital to get Nuclear Waste off San Onofre Beach, Says Report

摘要

San Onofre's dry storage systems for radioactive waste - derisively dubbed by critics as the "nuclear dump by the sea" - are so close to the ocean and groundwater table that they could suffer structural degradation over time, a new report says. The failings here, and nationwide, are plentiful, the report maintains: Safety procedures employed by the military haven't been applied to civilian nuclear plants. While other countries place spent fuel systems inside hardened, enclosed buildings to enhance safety, the U.S. has no such requirement. And the federal government's decades-long paralysis over a finding a safe, permanent repository for nuclear waste is unacceptable, potentially putting communities, coastlines and other natural resources at risk. After more than a year of study and debate, the task force convened by U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, released its lengthy report laying out ideas on how to propel nuclear waste off San Onofre's beach -and away from scores of other commercial plants nationwide.