More Scandals Rock Southern California Nuke Plant San Onofre (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our August 2018 report. More Scandals Rock San Onofre The eighth month of the year saw additional scandals erupt at Southern California's San Onofre nuclear plant, which has been shut down since 2013. Another potentially catastrophic accident occurred, a previously unknown whistleblower spoke out, and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is sending a special inspection team to try to sort out this whole mess. San Onofre's majority owner Southern California Edison shut the plant down prematurely after a scandal involving corporate mismanagement that caused a radioactive leak, and environmentalists exposed the utility's rush to restart the plant at the expense of the public's health and safety. Since the permanent shutdown Edison has begun what's called decommissioning, meaning dismantlement and decontamination of the nuclear plant .A key task in this process is dealing with the nuclear waste left over . This is called spent nuclear fuel, stored in San Onofre's nuclear reactors as well as in pools where it must be constantly cooled or else there could be a serious accident, in the worst case leading to a meltdown. This highly radioactive waste remains lethal to all life for a very long time. The federal government was supposed to take responsibility for for the megatons of spent nuclear fuel (3.55 million tons in San Onofre's case) for the whole nation by 1980, but still hasn't . Edison chose to do the job by having the spent fuel removed from the plant and transferred to what is called dry storage, in canisters that are then buried on site for who knows how long. To carry out this task Edison hired Holtec International of Camden, New Jersey. Work began this past February, then stopped--but for only 10 days--after a cask lost a part while being lowered into the burial site in March. The burial site is only 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean, protected by just a 28 foot seawall. August Is the Cruellist Month--So Far On August 10th the San Diego Union Tribune reported on "an incident" during which another spent fuel cask had become stuck on August 4th while being maneuvered down to the bottom of the nuke dump. Specifically, the cask was wedged 18 feet above the bottom, and remained there for "45 minutes to an hour" according to the NRC. The next day, August 4th, a whistleblower revealed himself at a public meeting about San Onofre's decommissioning, the same U-T article reported. He identified himself as David Fritch, and said he was employed with the federal Occupational and Safety Administration (OSHA) and had been working at San Onofre for three months. Fritch said he attended the meeting "to see if any of Edison's reps would discuss the 8-3 incident," but when none did he decided to report that the canister in question "could have fallen 18 feet." In a followup Union Tribune report on August 24th Fritch alleged that only "about a quarter inch" wedge prevented the canister from falling before it was finally repositioned and safely lowered. In the earlier U-T report Fritch also said some workers with Holtec "are undertrained" and many experienced supervisors are often sent away and replaced by new supervisors "who don't understand it as well." The 8-24 Union Tribune report said an NRC inspection team "will send a team to evaluate the incident, will come on September 10 and spend a week." The incident "confirms every fear we've had about what's going on at San Onofre and what measurges they're taking to ensure the public's safety," Charles Langley of theSan Diego Public Watchdogs told the the Union Tribune on August 10. He also expressed concerns that the spent fuel casks are not thick enough and could crack. In light of all the above, Edison put the cask transfer operations "on pause." Source: San Diego Union Tribune, uniontribune.com Holtec's Master Plan Given Holtec's troublesome performance at San Onofre, you might think the company would be curtailing its activities in other places. Unfortunately this is not the case. Earlier this year Nuclear Shutdown News detailed its plan to build a nuke dump in Arizona for the nation's spent fuel still sitting around the increasing number of shutting down and already closed nuclear plants. An application to do so has been filed with the NRC. The most likely means of transporting the high level radioactive waste would likely be by rail. But Holtec has also been removing spent fuel from shutdown nukes and storing it on site, most recently at Vermont Yankee, which closed in 2014. Holtec appears to be privatizing the job of dealing with the nuke industry's high level radioactive waste and turning it into its own growth industry , after the job was abdicated by the federal government since 1980, as noted above. On August 1 Utility Drive reported a new Holtec scheme to turn a profit this way in its article "Holtec to buy three nuclear plants, greatly accelerate decommissioning." The three nuclear plants, all shutting down in the near future, are Oyster Creek in New Jersey, Pilgrim in Massachusetts, and Palisades in Michigan. Holtec and its partner Comprehensive Decommissioning International, said they would dismantle and decontaminate the three nuke plants in eight years, though they have up to 60 years to do so. The same plan applies to Vermont Yankee. In that state the Conservation Law Foundation warned, "In the rush to secure a possible--and by no means certain--quick cleanup of the site, the settlement excludes reasonable protection for Vermont communities. The Utility Drive report did not explain why Holtec is buying the three nukes, or for how much, But a report by WBUR radio in Boston on August 2 said that in the Pilgrim deal "Holtec will get $1 billion paid by Massachusetts ratepayers into a decommissioning trust fund." Sources: Utility Drive, utility drive.com; WBUR, wbur.org. During August more Scandals Rocked the Southern California nuclear plant San Onofre, resulting in an upcoming federal investigation.
NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN NEWS JUNE 2015 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the US nuclear industry monthly.
NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN NEWS—APRIL 2015 (tags)
Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the continuing decline of the US nuclear power industry, and highlights the efforts of those who are creating a better energy future. Here’s the April edition:
Don't Travel to Israel Ever for Any Reason! (tags)
Israel
Common Sense vs. the Lone Gunman (tags)
thoughts on the JFK assassination
Why is KPFK still failing to thrive ? (tags)
KPFK is more than intimately tied to it's umbrella leader Pacifica, whose latest Executive Director has been 'fired' by some of questionable authority and who refuses to accept the factionalization that predominates these radio stations operations. But no actual factual information is ever available, not locally from KPFK or most other sites on line. Mostly the usual malicious attacking anyone else blurbs are found online. Why do we who pay dearly to subscribe, to be members, to sponsor KPFK programs [tho we may not chose to pay for all pgrms presented there, if given any free choices ] . We, outside the sacred halls of radio station know NOTHING from our local sources of KPFK or Pacifica 'news' and information Finally 1 site just went up, see below. Just recently a new site went up that allows no comments but is intended to take a side in the national malicious arguments on line about who runs the Pacifica PNB [nat’l board] and petitions are included therein. see http://2014.supportkpfa.org and also maybe tour thru facebook https://www.facebook.com/notes/tracy-rosenberg/turning-off-the-water-and-firing-the-lawyer/10201760444914193 to learn a bit more about what is dramatically occurring in Pacifica’s Berkley offices. To search out what may be factual or actual from what are marketing-promotional or negative-attack-ads blurbs takes hours of time and reading and is uncompensated ‘work’ just to know where even our KPFK dollars are being spent or set up to be wasted. And other than a midnight interview that was not heard by the great majority of KPFK listeners gave a hint of what is happening to Pacific, about it’s Executive Director, and the future of the whole set of radio stations affiliated and dependent on some structure that is stable and honest…if possible.
VIDEO: "Koch Brothers Exposed," 2012, 1 hr (tags)
Millions of dollars are spent in propaganda to convince the public that social security is bankrupt, that the retirement age should be raised to 70 and that social security should be turned into private retirement accounts. Millions are spent to undermine unions & privatize education.
Massive Pentagon Waste, Fraud and Grand Theft (tags)
Pentagon
America's Intelligence Budget Black Hole (tags)
spying
The high cost of new and improved (tags)
A relentless push to induce more consumer purchases is endemic. The weight and size of what we buy is bigger. And it is wrapped up in ever more packaging. The social costs of all this unnecessary consumption are high, and are paid for in environmental destruction.
Entitled To No Blowback (tags)
The notions that we need to be more aware of how our tax dollars are spent and that we should have more power and control over expenditures where taxes are concerned, have become increasingly popular in recent years. This is especially true since the onset of the recession and the disastrous dual wars that were, up until just recently, paid for out of taxes despite the fact Iraq turned out to be such a billion dollar mess. The idea we shouldn't spend willy nilly and should have more accountability makes sense and one wonders what caused us to so easily take our eye off the ball regarding this. It's regarded as a Republican or conservative value, but Democrats have been incensed by the way stimulus dollars were doled out and are just as concerned about financial accountability, though they may have different ideas about how the money gets spent.
My name is Patrick Meighan. I’m a husband, a father, a writer on the Fox animated sitcom “Family Guy” & a member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica. I was arrested at about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning with 291 other people at Occupy LA.
A Decade of US War Costs (tags)
anti-war
WEALTHY ELITE THAT CONTROL U.S. ELECTION$ HAVE MOVED U.S INTO SECRET 501C4 SLU$H FUNDING (tags)
STOLE 50 + BILLION $ in THE WALL STREET ~BANKERS ~AIG TARP BAILOUT & NOW SECRETLY FINANCED THEIR CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES OF CHOICE WITH TENS OF MILLION$ OF OUR U.S. TAXPAYERS MONIE$ !!!
WE The People
BTL:'Fix Congress First!' Organizes to Change 'Pay to Play' Status Quo in Washington, D.C. (tags)
BETWEEN THE LINES Syndicated Radio Newsmagazine
Prosecutors, Cops and Judges: Ready to Ditch California’s Death Penalty (tags)
In opinion pieces that appeared in papers across California last year, former prosecutors, judges and law enforcement officers raised their voices to declare: enough already, it’s time to ditch the death penalty. Let’s consider what they had to say.
UNITED STATES TO BECOME INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP. (tags)
URGENT ACTION ALERT! Condemned by health and environmental groups across the country, GNEP means foreign nuclear waste imported and "reprocessed" in the USA. This is a national issue! We need a big national outcry!!! Washington, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, South Carolina, and all our sister states! With Cold War nuclear sites thirty years behind on clean-up, the US must not import more foreign nuclear waste!
Youngest ever British person visits longest serving men in solitary at Angola Prison. (tags)
An 11 year old from London has become the youngest ever British person to visit two prisoners in Louisiana State Prison, who are the longest serving inmates in solitary confinement. Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox have spent over 35 years held in 6ft x 9ft cells for crimes even a federal judge has overturned.
Anarchist prisoner on hunger strike in Catalunya (tags)
Amadeu Casellas(anarchist prisoner) remains on hunger strike since june 23rd. We need your help to spread and publish this information in the alternative medias and anarchist medias all over Europe. That,s why we send you here this information in english,frenchs and german, use the one you find closer to your languaje, or traslate it into your native languaje, and send to indymedias and anarchist websites.
CDC Wastes Millions of Taxpayer Dollars, Says Senate Report (tags)
(CNSNews.com) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides an example of a big-budget federal agency getting its priorities wrong, according to an oversight report released by a Republican senator.
Israel to accept Arab Peace Plan (tags)
The 50 year war is over.
Sports Figures Call for Gary Tyler's Freedoom (tags)
Tommie Smith and John Carlos were part of the most dynamic moment in the history of sports and struggle when they raised their black-gloved fists at the 1968 Olympics. Lee Evans was also a gold medal winner at those Olympics and a leader of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was a top-ranked boxer who spent almost twenty years in prison for a triple homicide before being exonerated after an international campaign to win his freedom. Jim "Bulldog" Bouton and Bill "Spaceman" Lee were all-star pitchers for the Yankees and Red Sox who told uncomfortable truths about both society and the game that they love. Etan Thomas plays for the NBA's Washington Wizards and stands in the tradition of the previous generation of political athletes. Together, they and other sports figures are are asking Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco for the release of Gary Tyler. Read the statement to see how Tyler's quest for justice has brought these and other extraordinary figures from the world of sports together.
Top 10 Corporate Spenders On 2006 Initiatives Give $134 Mil. (tags)
Corporations Give 61% of Total Initiative Funding, Outspend Unions 12 To 1 Prop. 89 Will Level the Playing Field
Local Sailor Killed in Iraq (tags)
On Monday, Allan Espiritu , a longtime Oxnard resident and a man of deep religious faith, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq.
Hunter Thompson was murdered. (tags)
Hunter was murdered The weapon used to end Hunter Thompson's life was found with a full clip and no round in the chamber, with a shell casing 'at his feet' from a weapon that kicks a shell OUT and ALWAYS RE-CHAMBERS the next round. Do you smell rotten fish?
"Non-Humanitarian Catastrophes" (tags)
The problem is that money is spent wrongly, not that money is spent. I wish a peace research group would offer newspapers a daily column titled `What We Can Afford Today'. Two and a half civilian jobs could be financed for every employee in the armament industry.
A Spark Forum on the U.S. Health Care Crisis (tags)
Spark Forum and Discussion
USA violates int'l law in Iraqi 'election' (tags)
Under international law, the Occupation power does not have the right to alter political, economic or social structures of the victimized nation. Yet, the U.S. occupation authority has spent millions organizing 'election' polling booths in 14 foreign nations outside of Iraq.
OPERATION IRAQI PLUNDER (tags)
The United States spends Iraq's money - with little accountability.
About that Missing and Misspent $87 Billion: Kerry Was Right to Vote No (tags)
Most of the money was supposedly “for the troops” but reports from the front of shortages of everything from bullets to bullet-proof vests suggest it was shifted elsewhere, while the $18 billion designated for rebuilding Iraq is, for the most part, AWOL. Instead of explaining his vote, Kerry should be blasting the Bush administration for corruption and incompetence in misusing the money.
collect evidence in streets today if police riot (tags)
For today's protests, make sure to collect the spent evidence of police riot materials afterwards. Take pictures of cops without name tags. Dress as Santa. Take fake babies to the front lines...
The Health Care Epidemic (tags)
Health Care
PAYING TWICE, PEOPLE LOVE DOUBLE TAXATION
Israeli Left: Love Your Enemy, Hate Your Brother (tags)
All blood is red, and I guess Israel's lemmings can't tell the difference between the blood of innocent Israelis cut-down in the "act" of living their lives, and the blood of socio-pathic murderers, who Israel liquidates - in self-defense - before they can plan or kill again.
KPFK Background Briefing: WTO / Adam Shapiro, Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi on Arafat / Wayne Madson (tags)
One of KPFK's ongoing weekly programs of note...
US Fines, May Jail Woman Who Was 'Human Shield" in Iraq (tags)
Faith Fippinger, "a retired schoolteacher who went to Iraq to serve as a 'human shield' against the U.S. invasion is facing thousands of dollars in U.S. government fines, which she is refusing to pay." She could face 12 years in prison for taking this courageous stand against the US War Machine.
But calling stuff "SECRET" to cover up Pentagon screw-ups that cost soldiers' lives or to protect war racketeers' pet scams violates what our country is about. Ditto the Pentagon-employed spinmeisters and the big bucks they waste annually hiding the truth from U.S. citizens unknowingly footing the bill for their deceptions.
How much did they pay you for your vote?
Please Pray for My Vocation. (tags)
I need my life of environmental/peace&justice organizing-activism, and homeless service, to turn into a full spiritual vocation.
Captain Ozone - Hydrogen Fuel (tags)
A great alternative to foreign energy
Local news in San Diego labeling the protest there as "Biofizzle"
Gun nuts will go ga-ga over these nifty specs on what was being shot at the people. The LAPD needs to learn to follow instructions! Do not fire directly at people!