The poor handling of a nuclear storage container at San Onofre has resulted in a $116,000 fine by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Investigators point to a lack of availability of important safety equipment as one of the factors during the incident.
The “near-miss” was reported by a whistleblower last summer at the shuttered nuclear power plant owned by Southern California Edison. On Aug. 3, a nuclear waste-filled canister was left unsupported on a storage cavity during transfer.
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The incident temporarily shut down the effort to transfer nuclear material from so-called wet storage to dry storage casks on the San Onofre site. It also put a renewed focus on safety concerns surrounding the decommissioning of the nuclear plant and the storage of nuclear waste at the facility.
Rob Nikolewski, energy reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune, joins Midday Edition Tuesday with more on the story.
