But more work remains: 37 tons of nuclear waste are in an eroding bluff near King SalmonFollowing a years-long effort to decommission the former nuclear power plant in Humboldt Bay, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. recently filed a request with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to terminate the power plant’s license marking a “major milestone” for the Humboldt County community.Decommissioning efforts for the Humboldt Bay Power Plant Unit 3, a 63-Megawatt electric boiling water reactor, began in June 2009, more than 30 years after the power plant had ceased operations. It operated from 1963 to 1976 and was permanently defueled in 1984.At the time of the power plant’s construction, atomic energy was hailed as the solution to global energy needs. Cost-efficient construction methods and innovative engineering made the power plant “the first economically viable, privately funded nuclear power plant in the world,” according to documentation from the Library of Congress.At this point, the site has been remediated to levels “meeting an extensive set of standards and release criteria for a post-industrial, ‘residential farming’ use,” according to PG&E. “The ‘resident farmer’ scenario is the most restrictive level for remediation in (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) guidance for decommissioning former nuclear reactor sites.”However, the work is not over. Buried deep into Buhne Point, a highland bluff directly northeast of King Salmon, is an underground nuclear waste storage facility known as the Humboldt Bay Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, or ISFSI. While the ISFSI will effectively contain the 37-tons of nuclear waste for approximately 50 years, it is not a permanent solution.“The projections indicate that the sea level will be four feet higher in 50 years than it is today,” said Jennifer Kalt, Humboldt Baykeeper director. “The ISFSI is on the top of an eroding bluff, it’s 44-feet above sea level, it’s buried to 30 feet below the surface, so the bottom is only 10 feet above sea level currently. …What are we going to do, you know? It’s pretty clear that there needs to be a plan to at least move it back from the bay, it’s going to be really expensive and controversial, but leaving it there is not a plan. It’s a nightmare.”It won’t be easy, but Kalt said there needs to be a community process in deciding where to relocate the ISFSI. “It is essential for the community advisory board to continue meeting but we also want the community involved and not just experts researching it,” she said.Matthew Marshall, executive director of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, also underscored the need to develop a plan to relocate the spent fuel casts. “There will be an ongoing need to address the safe, long-term management of this radioactive waste, and there is currently no viable alternative/permanent storage location,” he said. “But it is great to have the plant decommissioning and site cleanup safely and thoroughly completed after so many years of complex work.”When asked what happens next, PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral said, “PG&E does not currently have plans beyond industrial use for the site as the ISFSI and the Humboldt Bay Generating Station are located within the former (power plant) site boundary.”Read More
