Image by J. DeStafano, 2012Southern California Edison has decided to permanently shutter its Units 2 and 3 San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations (SONGS) reactors in Southern Cal! Congratulations to all who fought so hard for this great victory! Read the Edison press release.
"This is very good news for the people of Southern California," said [a] statement from Friends of the Earth president Erich Pica. "We have long said that these reactors are too dangerous to operate and now Edison has agreed. The people of California now have the opportunity to move away from the failed promise of dirty and dangerous nuclear power and replace it with the safe and clean energy provided by the sun and wind."
Included in the "very good news" is the fact that San Onofre's operating reactor risks are no more. However, as longtime San Onofre watchdog Ace Hoffman has pointed out in a Counterpunch article, the on-site storage (in pools and dry casks) risks for the high-level radioactive waste already generated remains. But at least no more high-level radioactive waste will be generated, ever again, at San Onofre.