What’s up with dead lobsters found on California beach?

A large number of lobster carcasses have washed ashore in recent days at San Onofre State Beach. While state officials are monitoring the situation, thus far they say there is no cause for alarm.

“California State Parks has not observed anything unusual or concerning related to marine life at San Onofre State Beach,” a parks spokesperson said in an email to the Union-Tribune. “While staff have seen lobster exoskeletons along the shoreline, these observations are consistent with typical conditions and do not indicate an abnormal mortality event.”

The Union-Tribune also reached out to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. A spokesperson said the department “is looking into it” and has passed information along to its marine division.

The spokesperson went on to say it “would not be uncommon as seals and sea lions feed on lobster as well as other wildlife and we have had some larger swells recently due to the weather systems offshore that can stir the water up as well.”

Many of the lobster husks lay scattered, near and immediately north of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, also known as SONGS.

Roger Johnson, a retired neuroscience professor who lives in San Clemente, learned of the carcasses on Dec. 20 after his daughter strolled along the beach and took photographs.

Johnson wonders if the deaths are somehow related to a recent “liquid batch release” of wastewater from SONGS.

“I’m raising the question, considering they did a release the week before and then having all those lobster die,” said Johnson, a longtime opponent of nuclear power. “Maybe the lobster die all the time, I don’t know.”

For more than 50 years, SONGS has discharged wastewater that contains very low levels of radiation. All nuclear plants release some effluents, though the nature and amounts can vary by plant site and configuration.

In the case of SONGS, the “liquid batch releases” go right into the Pacific. Traveling through long conduits, the discharges are sent more than one mile offshore and about 50 feet below the surface. The wastewater must be cleaned up and highly diluted before going into the ocean.

Southern California Edison, the plant’s operator, has long insisted the levels are safe for marine life and the humans who swim and surf at San Onofre State Beach.

The most recent discharge came on Dec. 11, when nearly 35,000 gallons were sent into the ocean, according to the SONGS website.

Edison officials say the batch release has nothing to do with the lobster deaths.

“We are aware of no evidence that releases of cleaned up wastewater from SONGS have affected marine life, including lobsters,” said company spokesperson Jeff Monford. “We check batches of wastewater prior to release and can confirm they meet drinking water standards — so there is no logical threat to the marine environment.”

Monford said the utility sent divers into the ocean near SONGS from Dec. 15 through Dec. 19, “and they saw no issues” as they conducted inspections of the offshore conduits, sampled sediment and refurbished buoys in front of the plant.

Edison says it also has a radiological environmental monitoring program — consistent with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements — that monitors the local environment to gauge whether radiation is concentrating over time.

“We sample and monitor ocean water, ocean bottom sediment, shoreline sediment, kelp, and marine species at several beach locations north and south of the plan to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the community,” Monford said. “The NRC sets strict limit guidelines for commercial nuclear plants. Through this monitoring, we have seen no detrimental impact from SONGS on the local environment.”

When SONGS was producing electricity, the discharges came on almost a daily basis. After the plant shut down following a leak in a steam generator in 2012, the facility is now in the midst of a major dismantlement effort and the number of batch releases has dropped dramatically.

In its email to the Union-Tribune, the spokesperson for California State Parks said the agency will “continue to monitor the coastline and coordinate with appropriate agencies if any unusual activity is observed.”