San Clemente residents urge release of San Onofre inspection photos, cite damage to canister No. 72

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Public commenters at the San Clemente City Council meeting on Aug. 19 urged Southern California Edison to release full inspection photos of dry-storage canisters at the San Onofre site and described visible corrosion and gouging on canister No. 72.

“I’m here to bring urgent attention to a serious public safety concern, visible damage to our nuclear waste canisters at San Onofre just outside our city,” said Gary Hedrick, who identified himself as a founder of San Clemente Green, during the meeting’s public-comment period. Hedrick said his group obtained inspection photos showing “obvious evidence of corrosion on canister number 72” and a “gouge going all the way down.”

The comments said that the community engagement panel and members of the public had been denied access to additional photos because Southern California Edison (SCE) labeled the images “company confidential.” “We were asking about the lengthwise gouge and the corrosion,” Hedrick said, adding that the panel was not given comparative images needed to judge the extent of damage.

Jerry Colomer, speaking on behalf of several local and regional groups, urged public release of all visual-inspection photos and called for a third-party review by the California Coastal Commission’s independent resources. “The following organizations support making all photos from visual inspections available to the public and for a third party review by the California Coastal Commission’s independent resources,” Colomer said, and told the council that letters were on file with the commission.

Another commenter, Ed Schlegel, displayed images and described a sand-sculpture-sized depiction of a damaged canister, and said, “This shows the, life size nuclear waste can washed ashore, gouged, and corroded.” Schlegel and other speakers compared the thin-walled U.S. canisters to thicker designs used elsewhere and warned of vulnerability to corrosion. “These 40 ton 5 eighths inch thin walled temporary canisters are 16 feet tall, 6 feet across, and are vulnerable to corrosion and cracking,” Schlegel said.

Commenters referenced recent media accounts and said the issue has appeared in local outlets including the Orange County Register and Surfer magazine. Speakers criticized SCE’s public statements that scratches are shallow and not a structural threat, and urged the city and regulatory agencies to press for increased transparency and independent review.

Council members did not take formal action on the San Onofre inspection-photo requests during the public-comment period. The matter was presented as citizen concern for the record but no direction to staff or referral to a committee was recorded in the meeting minutes for this item.

Votes at a glance

Separately during the meeting the council voted 3–2 to move council-member reports to the end of the agenda after the consent calendar. The motion passed; the mover and seconder were not named on the public record.

Why it matters

Speakers framed the issue as a local public-safety and transparency concern because the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s spent-fuel storage is adjacent to the coastline and has been subject to scrutiny for corrosion and inspection practices. Commenters asked regulatory oversight bodies to review inspection records and for SCE to release additional imagery so independent experts can assess any structural risk.

What’s next

Public commenters said they have submitted materials to state and regional agencies and that advocacy groups intend to seek third-party review. The council did not announce a staff report or a scheduled follow-up on the issue at this meeting.