Radiation from steam generators low

Radiation from four steam generators removed from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California is about the same as a dental X-ray, officials say. The generators will be moved one at a time from San Diego County to Clive, Utah, on specially built 400-foot-long trucks, the Los Angeles Times reported. Each of the generators, removed because they had reached the end of their useful life, weighs about 700,000 pounds. The trucks will travel at night at speeds of about 15 mph, although they can travel slightly faster in Nevada and Utah, said Gil Alexander, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, which operates San Onofre. He said someone standing next to one of the generators for an hour would be exposed to a radiation level of about 5. He said a standard dental X-ray emits a radiation level between 4 and 15. "When we say this is very low-level waste and it will pose no risk to the public, we mean it," Alexander said. Alexander said all four generators will be shipped by the end of the year.