San Onofre Tour

As part of our Collaboration-Based Siting project with the DOE, we decided to host a workshop in San Diego, and we wanted to connect with many local groups and people who have strong thoughts about nuclear. Perhaps what most comes to mind is the conversation around the storage of used fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which was shut down in 2013.

Checking out the view of the ocean, with dozens of surfers hanging out just off shore

We definitely teased Dr. Hayes about this one - Dr. Hayes getting schooled about radiation risk…. ;-)
The SCE presentation was at a different level than Dr. Hayes is probably used to communicating - he teaches nuclear engineering graduate students, and this overview is meant for the general public.

This is a mockup of the component called a steam generator, not to be confused at all with the electrical generating portion of the plant. The steam generator is a big heat exchanger that transfers heat from the primary system to the secondary. Shortly after these components were all replaced, a design flaw caused these components to begin to wear, and led to the eventual shutdown of the plant.

Fereshteh has the power! This is actually the power to stop the power - control rods help shut down the nuclear chain reaction when they are lowered into the reactor.

Jennifer brought her radiation detector to compare dose rates around the used fuel storage facility.

Kodee and Heather went to high school together in Miami, AZ. Kodee now works for her tribe, the San Carlos Apache, doing economic development and energy projects. She graciously agreed to join the tour and also attend the workshop the next day.

Kodee enjoyed the tour while her sister and daughter hung out at the beach below the site. We got to see two different types of used fuel storage systems, one horizontal, and this one is vertical. The “lids” on top help prevent rain from flowing in the vents.

Concrete crushers are tearing down the walls and pulverizing the concrete so rebar can be separated.

Heather had an emotional reaction to seeing the open pit that used to be the SONGS turbine building. It feels like such a waste. We hope that future for Diablo Canyon is still a long way off.

The open pit that used to be the turbine building