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[San Onofre image courtesy of Platypus Skateboards]
Did anyone notice the map in the story in the Register on April 13 (“Drill tests response to nuclear emergency”, Local News, page 7) about the nuclear plant emergency drill? That map sure got my attention. It shows that if there had to be an evacuation of people living within a 50 mile radius of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station just south of the OC border that evacuation would cover 100% of Orange County, a huge chunk of San Diego County (including the critical Camp Pendleton Marine Corps training base), plus parts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
The significance of 50 miles is that this is the distance presently recommended by the U.S. government for the evacuation area around the quake and tsunami damaged nuclear installations in Japan. 50 miles means everyone – every building, every home, every school, every hospital, every nursing home – in Orange County. So, 50 miles can happen.
Given the situation in Japan, one that has demonstrated that a power company can fail in its mission to provide energy in a safe manner, it is no wonder that the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has just gone on record unanimously to urge Pacific Gas and Electric to withdraw its application to extend its operating license for the two reactors for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Apparently the reason for concern is that two earthquake faults lie near the plant. PG& E says that the maximum quake that could happen is a 7.5 and the plant is built to withstand such a quake.
The Santa Maria Times newspaper reports that the Supervisors want PG&E to focus on seismic studies for the next few years. The current licenses do not expire until 2024 and 2025.
Returning to the map in the April 13 Register, how comfortable are you living within 50 miles of the San Onofre facility? I wonder if the fact I live within 50 miles of that plant is something I will have to formally disclose if I ever want to sell my home. How is the new reality of nuclear plant hazards going to impact my property value? I know I see the Edison Company advertisements on TV touting that they have been trusted for 100 years, but I don’t remember taking steps to trust them with my life and that of my loved ones, nor the value of my home, but that seems to be the reality of San Onofre.
Given current events, it is time for our Board of Supervisors to engage in some intensive oversight and ask some tough questions so a public discourse about the safety and future of the San Onofre facility can occur. The United States Marine Corps might very well do the same, as a key facility to our national defense – Camp Pendleton – virtually surrounds the San Onofre plant.
The one nice thing about San Onofre is that it has a gravity fed backup cooling system. So, if the diesel generators are knocked out (like what happened in Japan) there is, from what I gather, a reservoir filled with water ready to cool it down. It would be interesting to find out how long the gravity system would work in an emergency.
One bad thing about San Onofre is that there are always new fault lines being discovered and scientists aren’t perfect at predicting the size of future earthquakes. San Onofre was designed to withstand the largest earthquake that is likely to happen. However, that doesn’t meant there won’t be something larger than a 7.0.
I would rather be living within a 50 mile radius of this power plant:
http://www.good.is/post/the-world-s-largest-concentrated-solar-plant-is-coming-to-california/
I pass the San Onofre plant many times a year, for many years. There are as many negative impressions as positive impressions running through my mind each time I pass the dynamic dome duo…
Man’s idea of awesome power pales when Mother Nature shudders off his elementary notions.
That solar plant in the desert is lookin’ good JT!
I’d rather be living within 10 miles of San Onofre than 100 miles from a coal plant. Coal-fired power plants are ruining the environment. Not just around the coal plants but for thousands of miles all around. I vote for more nuclear. No one has died from a nuclear accident in the US. I don’t recall there ever being an injury related to a nuclear accident. Even at Three-Mile Island. And I agree with Even Steven above. We need more solar in the desert. And one more thing on using modern technology: more desalination plants to turn ocean water into fresh. We have a reprieve from drought conditions but they will return. We live in a semi-arid climate. Let’s think ahead and be prepared for clean energy and new sources of water.
I’m wondering if my math could be wrong. So maybe someone on your site can double check me? Less than an hour from San Onofre, Granite Construction Company (GCC) is promoting their “Liberty Quarry” near Fallbrook/Rainbow.
According to materials in the http://www.sos-hills.org/ website, Granite representatives have stated that Liberty Quarry will use 10,000 pounds of explosives in daily blasting. Blasting is scheduled six days a week to remove 5 million pounds of granite per year for 75 years.
Even though the concussive force will be directed into the ground, and not the atmosphere, I did some checking:
* The Trinity atomic test was the equivalent of 15,000 tons of TNT.
* Granite Construction Corporation would use 5 tons of an ammonium nitrate mixture for blasting per day at the proposed Liberty Quarry site.
* 3000 days of blasting would equal the discharge of the Trinity blast of 1945.
* Every 8.22 years GCC would release the same amount of force as an atom bomb at Liberty Quarry.
* During the proposed 75 year lifetime of Liberty Quarry the explosive equivalent of nine Trinity-level nuclear explosions would be released.
* Granite Construction Corp., intends to detonate NINE Trinity-level explosions at Liberty Quarry during the project’s 75 year lifetime.
Any comments?
I live 17 miles from SONGS. I have a baby daughter. I’m one of those people that’s all about working to make human civilization sustainable. One cannot be for transitioning to a low carbon energy system AND advocate for shutting down San Onofre. To reach the carbon reduction goals we need to are going to be hard enough as it is.
I think we have to live with the existing nuke fleet we have in the US and invest like hell in 4th generation nuclear that promises to solve the fuel cycle and safety issues. That’s not fusion, it’s actually real and its coming. Until then, lots more wind and lots more solar…..and we keep our nukes with one major upgrade: Let’s fix the NRC so it’s no longer and industry lap dog.