NH #791: SPECIAL: San Onofre Symposium – Is Full Decommissioning An Impossible Dream?

The euphoria of victory in achieving the San Onofre shut-down before the reality of the battle of the radioactive waste had a chance to sink in.

THIS WEEK’S SPECIAL FEATURED INTERVIEWS:

The Samuel Lawrence Foundation produced the August 20 2026 San Onofre Symposium: Nuclear Waste to Clean Energy. Nuclear Hotseat’s Libbe HaLevy was there to cover it for the show Here, she shares interviews with two presenters and an attendee who walked in thinking nuclear energy is a good thing, and afterwards… well, listen and you’ll find out.

• Kim McCoy is a physical oceanographer with expertise in coastal processes and instrumentation design. He has completed 40+ science projects including nine to Polar regions, and is a NATO Scientific Achievement Award recipient for his pioneering work in underwater communications, and author of the third edition of Waves and Beaches: The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and Coast.

McCoy spoke about how coastal structures, watersheds, and ocean dynamics intersect with the nuclear waste sitting only 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean at San Onofre. He also made the point that there are no separate oceans; they are all one body of water, illustrated by the graphic below:

The Global Ocean

• David Jay Weisman is recently retired from the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility after co-founding and working with the group for 21 years, the last three as its Chair. Here, he offers insights into strategies that worked to move the decommissioning and safety conversation from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington to the California Coastal Commission and California Public Utilities Commissions – both of which have jurisdiction over California nuclear reactors. It’s a strategy that deserves to be emulated, and Weisman offers to share his files and insights with those interested in pursuing this route. You can contact him at: davidjayweisman@gmail.com.

The Samuel Lawrence Foundation will be posting a video of the entire symposium in the near future on their website. Check in, check often to see when it posts.

This Month’s ICAN UPDATE with Alistair Burnett

Alistair Burnett, head of Media for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, reports from ICAN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, with the latest on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or TPNW. Alistair’s interviewee is Céline Nehory, ICAN’s Director of Government Relations and Advocacy. The ICAN UPDATE is a monthly feature of Nuclear Hotseat.