Letters to the Editor: No, nuclear waste isn't just 'buried' near San Onofre

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·1 min read
San Onofre, CA - April 21: A view of the dry spent fuel storage facility in the foreground as surfers ride the waves at San Onofre State Beach and U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visits the dry spent fuel storage facility and shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to discuss the issue of storing nuclear waste and learn about the plant's decommissioning process. Granholm was joined by U.S. Rep. Mike Levin at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, overlooking San Onofre State Beach, south of San Clemente Thursday, April 21, 2022. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A view of the dry spent fuel storage facility at San Onofre in 2022. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: The Times needlessly alarms unfamiliar readers with a single, poorly chosen word. Merely stating that nuclear waste is "buried" in a bluff near the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station couldn't be further from the truth. ("Nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain could roil Nevada U.S. Senate race," April 30)

Now, do a piece explaining to readers that spent reactor fuel from the long-shuttered plant is packed in secure, removable transportable casks, stored in accessible concrete bunkers, and ready for that day when Yucca Mountain in Nevada or an alternative facility is open to hold them.

Or, you could just print my letter.

David W. Kay, Playa Vista

The writer is a former senior environmental manager at Southern California Edison, which owns the San Onofre plant.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.