Erosion Threatens San Onofre’s Coastal Nuclear Waste Storage as Sea Levels Rise
Storm-driven erosion along Southern California’s coast has revived worries about the 3.6 million-pound cache of spent nuclear fuel stored just 100 feet from the ocean at the decommissioned San Onofre plant.
Intense storm activity, amplified by Hurricane Marie, has intensified erosion of the shoreline near the former San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, raising alarms over the 3.6 million pounds of high-level radioactive waste stored only 100 feet from the Pacific. Southern California Edison maintains that its seawall and steel cask system can survive the maximum credible tsunami and a magnitude-7 earthquake, and it will move the waste to a higher-elevation pad if sea-level projections demand it.
Experts like UC San Diego geologist James Day stress the geological timescale of the waste’s hazard, while former one outlet chair Greg Jaczko calls for more rigorous monitoring. The utility tracks temperature, radiation and cask integrity, asserting the design will remain safe for decades. At the same time, the Department of Energy is courting states such as Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Idaho and Indiana to host “consent-based” nuclear waste campuses, offering funding and jobs as an alternative to the abandoned Yucca Mountain repository. Local officials and community groups remain divided over the proposal, and the fate of the San Onofre waste could influence national policy on long-term nuclear storage.
Why it matters
Coastal erosion could jeopardize a large stock of radioactive material, affecting public safety and national waste-management plans.
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