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Solana Beach, California — Today’s 5.2 magnitude earthquake near Julian, California - just 65 miles from the San Onofre site - is a stark reminder: highly radioactive, lethal nuclear waste is sitting just 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean at the decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), stored in thin-walled metal canisters vulnerable to seismic events like earthquakes and tsunamis, in an area so active it’s called "Earthquake Bay."
The Samuel Lawrence Foundation urgently calls for immediate inspection of the canisters for potential damage following today’s quake - and for the rapid repackaging and relocation of this radioactive material to a safer site.
“The danger is not hypothetical. It’s sitting exposed on our coastline,” said Bart Ziegler, Co-Founder and President of SLF. “Without immediate inspections, we have no way of knowing whether today’s earthquake compromised the canisters or not.”
Admiral Len Hering, speaking at a recent Samuel Lawrence Foundation symposium, warned that one king tide or tsunami could overwhelm the canisters, leading to catastrophic radioactive release.
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