Free Republic

“For reasons that are still under investigation, the convoy began to slow causing a chain reaction collision. One of the truck trailers was pushed forward into the cab causing fatal injuries to the driver,” CHP said in a news release. A 26-year-old service member died at the scene. Another sailor in his early 20s has severe injuries and four other service members, two women and two men in their early 20s, suffered minor injuries, CHP said. The surviving victims were taken to Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital and Mission Hospital in Orange County for treatment. First responders and personnel from CHP’s...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The demise of California's San Onofre nuclear power plant began with an attempt to fix it. A $670 million equipment swap in 2009 and 2010 went haywire, leaving Southern California Edison on Friday with two idle reactors, more than $500 million in bills and a federal decision on a possible restart nowhere in sight. The company decided to close it, permanently. The announcement triggered a celebration among environmentalists and other critics of the nuclear power industry who argued the plant was too damaged to operate safely. "There's a huge sense of relief for us," said Laguna...

A $670 million overhaul at California’s San Onofre nuclear plant was expressly intended to avoid the types of ailments that have sidelined its twin reactors. San Onofre’s twin reactors have been idle for more than three months in the midst of a federal probe into what went wrong with hundreds of tubes that snake through the generators. Some were so eroded after a brief run in operation they can no longer function safely. Less than a month before a tube break in January prompted Southern California Edison to take the plant offline, engineers writing in a trade magazine touted a...

SAN CLEMENTE (CBS) — An extended shutdown at the San Onofre nuclear power generating plant has prompted calls from one Orange County lawmaker to replace the aging reactor with newer technology. KNX 1070′s Mike Landa reports the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has been out of commission since January due to safety concerns surrounding its two reactors Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) declared the plant safe after touring the facility on Thursday, but said the closure highlights the fact that the plant just south of San Clemente is outdated. “I am calling today for a moratorium on any more light-water...

Concern over the safety of the San Onofre nuclear power plant is growing among Orange County cities closest to the facility, which has been shut down since January because of system failures. Officials in nearby San Clemente and Laguna Beach — both within 20 miles of the San Onofre facility — have registered their fears after significant wear was found on hundreds of tubes carrying radioactive water inside the plant's generators. ...Southern California Edison, which operates the San Onofre facility, said San Onofre is vital to providing electricity to a densely populated, high-consuming area like Southern California, with 20% of...

A former manager at one of California's two nuclear power stations sued the facility's operators on Wednesday, claiming he was fired in retaliation for reporting safety concerns at the plant.

Pete Dietrich, chief nuclear officer at San Onofre, assured in a news conference this week that San Onofre is super safe. The twin reactors are encased in inner shells of steel that are 8 inches thick and outer shells of concrete that are 4 feet thick. However, there's an old saying in the news business: "If your mother tells you she loves you, check it out." I've ridden my bicycle past the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station a dozen times. In my mind's eye, there are gaps in the wall around the plant. Could a massive tsunami circle around the...

When San Onofre was designed several decades ago, scientific studies showed that the largest tsunami likely to strike the San Onofre area would measure about 25 feet. The wall was built 30 feet high for extra protection, Alexander said. As for earthquakes, the facility was built to survive a nearby earthquake with a magnitude 7.0, Alexander said. During the plant's planning stages, "The best science suggested that the nearest earthquake fault, which is five miles from the plant, could produce an earthquake something less than a magnitude 7 in the plant vicinity," Alexander said. He added that it wouldn't take...

Tough new rules imposed by the State Water Board Tuesday would force 19 coastal power plants to begin phasing out their reliance on ocean-water cooling systems — raising the specter of giant towers erected along I-5 to cool the San Onofre nuclear plant. San Onofre and the other plants, including the AES plant in Huntington Beach, were given deadlines to make technological updates to their cooling system by the Water Board, which voted to approve the new rules late Tuesday. The deadlines are years away — for San Onofre, it’s 2022. The new rules could force many plants to switch...

Channel 7 KABC News Los Angeles reports that very loud siren alarms have been going off at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant for the past 30 minutes. According to a local Sheriff, there is no indication of any danger to the community. They are working on finding a way to turn the sirens off.

Federal inspectors said Monday they will ratchet up scrutiny of the San Onofre nuclear power plant after discovering that a battery meant to power safety systems had been inoperative for four years. Plant personnel discovered in March that bolts connecting an emergency battery to a circuit breaker were loose, a problem the Nuclear Regulatory Commission attributed to poor maintenance. The commission said that the twin-reactor plant near San Clemente, run by Rosemead-based Southern California Edison, remains safe, and that other backup batteries are functioning. But the commission expressed concern that the battery problem had gone unnoticed from 2004 to 2008....

SACRAMENTO - In his first direct responses, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger defended dumping his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and actor Clint Eastwood from the state Parks and Recreation Commission - a step critics allege was taken in retaliation for their opposition to a six-lane toll road through San Onofre State Park. Led by Shriver and Eastwood, the appointed and unpaid commission has been an outspoken opponent of the toll road, claiming that super highways have no place in state parks. There also are worries that it could irreparably damage a renowned surfing area called Trestles. In an interview with the Orange County...

Take your pick. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger either felt the need for “fresh legs” on the state Park & Recreation Commission or was in the mood for political payback. Whatever his true sentiments, his staff notified his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and actor Clint Eastwood on Monday that they were no longer needed as state park commissioners. Shriver, 53, a Democrat and brother of First Lady Maria Shriver, and Eastwood, 77, a Republican and former mayor of Carmel, were first appointed to the advisory commission by Gov. Gray Davis in 2001. Three years later, Schwarzenegger reappointed both of them to four-year terms....

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (AP) - The California Public Utilities Commission approved a massive $680 million renovation that would extend the life of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station by at least 13 years. The commission on Thursday gave Southern California Edison the green light to replace four aging steam generators that power the two nuclear reactors at the seaside plant about 60 miles south of Los Angeles. Under the PUC's decision, Edison's ratepayers would be on the hook for up to $782 million, including possible cost overruns. Customers would pay about 50 cents extra on their monthly bills beginning in...

<p>SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) - Judges on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by environmental groups claiming the bankrupt Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is unqualified to build a spent-fuel storage facility at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.</p> <p>Three administrative judges, who are part of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board of the Texas-based U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), concluded that the petitioners "failed to demonstrate there is any genuine and substantial dispute of fact or law."</p>