CEP Regular Meeting – SONGS Dismantlement Update

Nov 13, 2025
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
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Key Takeaways

The SONGS dismantlement update focused on key activities, regulatory compliance, and environmental updates. SCE provided a safety update, the project schedule and three major work streams: dismantling above ground structures, safely managing spent fuel onsite and advocating for offsite storage and disposal. The current phase of dismantlement is on schedule for containment domes to be removed by mid- 2027, and with additional work and final status surveys will be completed.

SCE has reached over 3 million hours without a lost-time accident. SONGS safety culture focus is on compliance with programs and procedures with an emphasis on hazard identification and situational awareness. SCE discussed a recent material handling incident which occurred on October 21, when the self-propelled modular transporter experienced a rollover event while it was being transferred from the Unit 3 containment building with the turntable lifting rod attached. No personnel were injured, and the equipment was recovered. The Investigation and evaluation to determine the cause and corrective actions is underway.

SCE is currently working on large component removal from the containment buildings, controlled building demolition and reactor vessel segmentation. SCE presented before and after photos of the structural building removal progress for the tank farms and safety equipment buildings as well as photos of on-going work within the Units 2 and 3 reactor cavities as they demobilized reactor vessel segmentation equipment in Unit 3 containment for use in Unit 2.

SCE shared the results of the July 2025 NRC inspection, which included three severity level IV non-cited violations. The violations were related to an unposted high radiation area, an access door that is credited as a barrier for Part 37 (protection of radioactive materials) purposes and an access door was at one point credited as a control to a locked high radiation area. In both access door examples, the issue was with the design of the door. There was no unauthorized access to radioactive materials nor overexposure of personnel. Level IV violations are the lowest of the four severity levels but are viewed as unacceptable and corrective actions have been developed to prevent reoccurrence.

The environmental update provided current monitoring results for groundwater tritium at Unit 2 and 3 wells. Enhanced monitoring will continue until tritium falls below detection limits. A detailed explanation of the recent notice of violation from the Department of Toxic Substances Control relating to the ½ inch sampling holes in the hazardous waste facility was provided. There is a potential for a water batch release before the end of this year.

Dr. James Burns materials scientist professor (University of Virginia) participated in the meeting to answer follow-up questions related to the CEP Educational Seminar on October 16. There were none.

CEP members expressed thanks to SCE for its transparency and sharing the canister inspections photos at the October 16 meeting.

Shareables

SONGS CEP Regular Meeting

Date: November 13, 2025

Time 5:30 – 8:30 pm (PT)

Location: via Microsoft Teams (link provided below)

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Early submittal of questions/comments before a CEP meeting increases the likelihood of a response during the hour long facilitated public dialogue portion of the meeting.

  • Questions and comments may be submitted via email to: nuccomm@songs.sce.com.
  • Questions and comments submitted in advance of the meeting and related to agenda topics will be—to the greatest extent possible—addressed in the presentation and/or discussed during facilitated public dialogue or, if necessary, responded to via email following the meeting.
  • Questions and comments received via NUCCOMM and related to agenda topics will be addressed first; questions on broader topics received during the public comment period will be addressed subsequently.

To submit questions/comments during a CEP meeting, use the CEP Comment Form link (if attending virtually) or use the hardcopy CEP Question/Comment Cards (if attending in-person) available at the registration table near the facility entrance.

  • Questions and comments will be added to the queue in order of receipt.
  • Questions and comments related to the meeting agenda topics will be —to the greatest extent possible—addressed during facilitated public dialogue or, if necessary, responded to via email following the meeting.
  • Victor Cabral and Martha McNicholas will facilitate the public dialogue portion of the meeting.

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To sign up to speak:

  • Complete the CEP Comment Form (if attending virtually)
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Each speaker will have three minutes to ask a question or deliver a comment.

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