Oceanside, CA – On Wednesday, June 27, 2012, residents from Oceanside will attend the Oceanside City Council meeting and request that the Council place the issue of the safety of their community should there be  an accident at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on a future Council Agenda for in-depth discussion and presentation by experts.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission met in San Clemente on June 18^th and pledged that San Onofre will remain shut down until a solution is found to fix the problem (a release of radioactive steam and unexpected, accelerated tube wear) which precipitated the emergency shutdown on January 31, 2012.

Concerned residents, living within the radius of danger from a potential nuclear accident at SONGS, have been appealing to their local city councils so that experts may address and inform government leaders about this critical safety issue.  Residents are also asking for clearly stated evacuation plans and routes.

In San Diego and Orange Counties, the cities of Del Mar, Solana Beach, Vista, Encinitas, Huntington Beach, Irvine, San Clemente and Laguna Hills have been approached by local residents. Some city councils have taken action such as writing to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and passing resolutions asking for SONGS to be decommissioned or remain shut down until it is 100% safe to resume operation.

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is sited in a tsunami inundation zone and near numerous faults predicted to sustain 7.5 to 8.0 magnitude earthquakes. There have been no computer tests conducted at SONGS to determine if the facility can safely withstand 7.5 to 8.0 magnitude earthquakes. (The plant was designed to resist 6.0 quakes and upgraded to resist a 7.0 quake.) SONGS’ 14 foot sea wall is inadequate to prevent destruction from a tsunami – horrifying pictures of which are seared into the collective consciousness from Japan’s tsunami and nuclear crisis at Fukushima.  There are 4,000 tons of spent fuel sitting on site at San Onofre and 8 million people living within a 50 mile radius who will need to be evacuated in the event of a nuclear accident.

WHERE:          Oceanside City Council Chambers , 300 North Coast Highway, Oceanside Civic Center (2^nd floor)

WHEN:            Wednesday, June 27, 2012 – 5:00 p.m.   Public Comments not on the Agenda