"Calif. nuclear plant will close; Troubled past, ongoing hurdles led to decision" by Michael R. Blood | Associated Press, June 08, 2013
LOS ANGELES — In a jolt to the nation’s nuclear power industry, the owners of Southern California’s San Onofre plant announced Friday they are shutting it down for good after the discovery of damaged equipment led critics to charge it could never operate safely again.
The twin reactors — situated along the densely populated corridor between San Diego and Los Angeles — would be the largest to shut down permanently in the United States in the past 50 years, federal officials said.
Southern California Edison’s decision brings to a sudden end a dispute that began in January 2012, when a small radiation leak led to the discovery of unusual damage to hundreds of virtually new tubes that carry radioactive water. The plant hasn’t produced electricity since then.
Edison has already spent more than $500 million on repairs and replacement power and was facing a snarl of regulatory hurdles, investigations, and mounting political opposition as it planned to restart one reactor this year.
Ted Craver, chairman of SCE parent Edison International, said in a statement that the company concluded that ‘‘continuing uncertainty about when or if [the plant] might return to service was not good for our customers, our investors, or the need to plan for our region’s long-term electricity needs.’’
San Onofre, which opened in 1968, was capable of powering 1.4 million homes. California officials have said they can make it through the hot season without the plant as long as the summer is uneventful, but warned that wildfires or another disruption in supply could cause power shortages.
It will take months, and possibly years, to completely close the reactors, known as decommissioning.
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Also see:
California Flare-Ups: Point Break
California Could Have Its Own Fukushima
Related:
"Water at Japan plant is contaminated" by Martin Fackler | New York Times, June 06, 2013
TOKYO — In an embarrassing reversal from its earlier claims, the operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant said Tuesday that radioactive particles have been detected in groundwater flowing into the plant, an admission that could raise new questions about the company’s ability to handle the plant’s cleanup.
Embarrassing reversal means they lied. Fukushima will go down as the greatest environmental disaster of the 21st-century if not all history -- if we are able to survive it.
While the level of contamination is very low, its discovery amounts to an admission of error by the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., which had previously said that no particles had been detected in the water. The reversal is the latest in a string of mistakes and minor mishaps at the plant.
Also see:
Around New England: No Veracity in Vermont
Around New England: Vermont Votes Yankee Down
The Boston Globe Can Not Say a Lie
Not for some people, but they sure can tell 'em sometimes!
The discovery could also create additional problems for the utility by jeopardizing its plans for alleviating a growing water crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The company has been struggling to slow groundwater that has been flowing into the basements of the damaged reactor buildings at a rate of 100,000 gallons per day, threatening the makeshift system that cools the crippled reactors. The water, which becomes highly contaminated once it comes in contact with the reactor buildings, must then be stored in huge metal tanks, which have filled every available space at the plant.
What they have done in the past is dump it into the ocean. That's how they are keeping them cool, by continuously spraying water on the melted down cores. And now groundwater is leaking in and becoming contaminated and threatening the band-aid solution.
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Also see: Finally, a Post About Fukushima
I think is it a vitally important story that isn't "news" anymore. Regime change in Syria is news because it makes my Jewish war paper every day. The environmental disaster at Fukushima is mostly forgotten. The world will be lucky to have nothing but cancer clusters in 20 years. The existent of mankind is under threat.
