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Nuclear waste shipment to roll through Inland Empire
View of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant in north San Diego County.
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Nuclear waste shipment to roll through Inland Empire
Nuclear waste shipment to roll through Inland Empire
Later this year, several deliveries of low-radioactive nuclear waste will pass through the Inland Empire. The truck shipments will carry retired generator parts from the San Onofre Nuclear Station in San Diego County to a disposal site in Utah.
The slow-moving, 400-foot tractor trailer will ferry the nuclear junk in four separate road trips. The crew will travel at about 15 miles per hour, so it’ll make several stops along the 800-mile route.
The shipments are being escorted by the California Highway Patrol. The first journey includes a crawl through the Temecula & Riverside areas.
“The whole endeavor here will take about three weeks," says Southern California Edison project manager Craig Harberts.
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Harberts described the mission at a news conference at San Onofre. “We are prepared right after the first shipment to begin the preparations to perform the second shipment, so we’ll be reaching out to everyone we know.”
As a security precaution, officials are keeping quiet about when the waste will be shipped. They also don’t want gawkers gathering on bridges or roadways.
Harberts says residents will not be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. “Now if you were to stand approximately 6 feet away from the lower assembly itself for 1 hour you would pick up approximately what you would receive in a dental X-ray.”
Officials hope to have all four nuclear steam generator shipments completed by the end of the year.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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