San Onofre Dismantlement Set For February

SAN CLEMENTE, CA — The nuclear power generation station has stood on the southern California coastline for 40 years. Over the next eight years, SoCal Edison workers will dismantle the site, Ron Pontes, Manager of Environmental Decommissioning, said in a recent release.

All residents who live within a five-mile radius of the station were alerted to the impending work through a mailer they will receive sometime this week, Pontes said, consistent with the decision by the California State Lands Commission from last year.

Eight years ago, a minor release of radioactive gas from the unit's steam generator led workers to power-down the San Onofre Nuclear Reactor. At that time, San Onofre spokesman Gil Alexander said sensors tripped, showing "mildly radioactive water was leaking from one of two water systems in the steam generator apparatus of Unit 3. "

That was the last time it ever saw power.

Doug Bauder, SCE vice president, and chief nuclear officer for San Onofre, discussed the upcoming project and the neighbors it may affect.

"We're going to be a good neighbor throughout the decommissioning process," he said. "That means providing timely, usable information to the community and to the people who use the recreational resources next door to us. We will be providing quarterly updates going forward, so folks are aware of the work that is happening on site."

The work will begin in the North and East plant site parking lots, which will become staging areas for materials and equipment over the next six months to 24 months. Expect to see some temporary trailers during this time, they say.

The railroad spur area will be used to transport significant components of the site by rail, they said. Further, the domes—or as they are called Units 2 and 3 Containment Buildings, will be prepped for installation of containment access openings, and asbestos-containing materials removal. Within two years, that will complete the initial site work.

Over time, the team of workers will dismantle and remove all buildings, containment domes, and other above-grade structures associated with Units 2 and 3 in compliance with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements, according to SCE.

Partial removal of offshore conduits, the large pipes that brought and discharged ocean cooling water to the plant, will also take place. Workers will also remove all offshore buoys and anchors.

Don't expect the domes to leave right away. Though the initial work will take approximately eight months to complete, the full removal of the containment domes—along with the reactors and other inside materials—will be finished for some time.

The 12,000 residents within a five-mile radius of the facility should have their Advance Notice of Deconstruction notices soon, officials say, if they have not received them already.

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