In honor of several recent days that call attention to the health of our all-important oceans, Earth Day, World Oceans Day, and International Surfing Day, I wrote a letter to Governor Newsom asking him to withdraw his support of nuclear energy in California. While we can all agree that fossil fuels must be phased out to reduce the carbon footprint they leave behind, replacing them with nuclear energy is a deadly and expensive step in the wrong direction.
Calling nuclear energy ‘clean’ energy could not be further from the truth. The ‘front end’ of the nuclear industry requires the mining of uranium – a filthy process that creates untold human and environmental damage, often rendering the mining sites uninhabitable. The ‘back end’ of the nuclear process cycle leaves behind hundreds of millions of pounds of highly-radioactive nuclear waste at every nuclear power plant across the US. These materials will continue to be toxic for hundreds of thousands of years, if not longer. We need to stop making more of this deadly waste until our Federal Government identifies a location where what has already been produced can be safely stored for millennia, far away from the ocean and population centers.
Nuclear energy has also been called ‘cheap’ energy, which is completely false, considering the massive government subsidies that are required to build nuclear power plants and, later, even larger taxpayer-funded subsidies to eventually decommission the aging plants. These subsidies amount to many, many billions of dollars – resulting in huge profits to utilities and private contractors. With nuclear power plants taking decades to be built, and almost always running years behind schedule and way over budget, nuclear is not a quick fix for our energy needs. Considering the many drawbacks to its use, including the high stakes in the event of a radiologic catastrophe, nuclear is not the answer to California’s energy needs.
With the rest of the US looking on California as the leader in eco-friendly policies, it is hypocritical for us to be promoting nuclear energy when renewable energy sources are setting new records in our state. In April 2024, Newsom announced that California exceeded its clean energy goals by running 100% on clean energy for 40 out of the previous 48 days, including 11 days in a row. Renewable energy includes widely-distributed sources such as offshore wind, onshore wind, rooftop solar, industrial-level solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and battery storage systems. Unlike nuclear energy, technology to improve and expand the use of all of these renewables is moving quickly, with increasing efficiency and lower costs.
NUCLEAR WASTE AT SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION (SONGS)
When SONGS was permanently shut down in 2013, most Southern Californians thought we were safe from the threat of a disastrous radiologic accident. However, as part of the decommissioning process, the California Coastal Commission authorized Southern California Edison to bury 3.6 million pounds of highly-radioactive ‘spent-fuel waste’ in thin-walled metal canisters a mere 108 feet from the ocean, under the premise that it was ‘temporary’ storage. The toxic waste is close to: breaking waves on a popular surfing beach; the Interstate 5 Freeway; rail lines; Camp Pendleton Marine Base; and major population centers. It could not have been placed in a worse location.
For over 50 years, the Federal Government has been promising to find a location to safely and permanently store toxic spent-fuel waste in a deep geologic repository – but they have failed. The 123 metal canisters at SONGS were not intended for long-term storage of radioactive waste in a corrosive marine environment. Many esteemed scientists, nuclear experts, military advisors, academics, and environmentalists present credible scenarios indicating that there are many dangers to leaving the waste in its current location. There is significant evidence of land instability at San Onofre as well as sea level rise occurring now, with water intrusion that could impact pipelines, foundations, roadways, and worsen soil stability. We cannot afford to wait until even one canister leaks. This waste must be moved to higher ground ASAP.
The entire economy of California is at risk until San Onofre’s nuclear waste is moved from its current location. Even a minor leak would destroy the tourism industry in Southern California, with the massive evacuations that would be required. With Anaheim’s recent approval of Disney’s $1.9 Billion ‘DisneylandForward’ expansion, Disney should be very concerned that their investment could be worthless should there be a radiation leak at San Onofre, with dire impacts for all of Southern California.
RADIOACTIVE OCEAN CONTAMINATION
Another significant environmental concern is the radioactive wastewater that is being released into the ocean as part of the decommissioning process at San Onofre. SONGS continues to release hundreds of thousands of gallons of radioactive wastewater into the ocean on a regular basis – with some releases being even more toxic than others. Hundreds and even thousands of surfers are in the ocean every day in front of and close to the San Onofre outflows, even on the days when radioactive wastewater is being released. Other than very hard-to-find advance notifications on Southern California Edison’s website, surfers and swimmers are not being warned about these radioactive wastewater releases as they are occurring. It is ironic that beaches are required to post signs warning that it is dangerous to swim for 72 hours after rain, and yet, there are no required warnings for something that can potentially cause DNA-altering damage, particularly to pregnant and nursing women. The effects of ionizing radiation are cumulative and exponentially more damaging to female and children’s bodies than to an adult male. Imagine the damaging health impacts that have already occurred in surfers who have surfed at San Onofre for decades. The risks are just too high to allow this ocean contamination to continue.
With California poised to ban plastic straws and plastic bags because of the dangers they pose to our oceans, surely we can all see the hypocrisy of allowing nuclear energy’s radioactive legacy to continue to foul our beaches, damage sea life, and cause untold environmental damage to our oceans.
We can do better for future generations. California’s leaders must stop promoting nuclear energy and, instead, commit to expanding renewable energy sources.
Diane Edmonds – As a lifelong ocean-lover and longtime Orange County Surf Photographer, I have been drawn into the movement to get 3.6 million pounds of highly-radioactive nuclear waste moved away from the ocean at OC’s decommissioning San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). My role is to reach out to the surf community to make them aware of the dangers of radiation exposure resulting from billions of gallons of radioactive water released into the ocean at nuclear power plants. I also am an advocate to shut down the last operating nuclear power plant in California, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County.
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