Marine life revival off San Onofre's shores
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/mar/06/marine-life-revival/
Marine life revival off San Onofre's shores
By Morgan Lee 7:30 p.m. March 6, 2014
Before a small radiation leak shut down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in early 2012, ocean pipes drew in 2.4 billion gallons of water a day to cool twin nuclear reactors, sucking in and killing fish, larvae and eggs by the tons.
Casualties each year included dozens of sea lions and harbor seals.
Water leaving the plant kicked up a turbid plume of sediment that blocked sunlight from the adjacent San Onofre kelp forest, once habitat for a rich assortment of sea life.
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As a result, marine scientists suspect an ecological revival is under way just below the oceans surface. The reduced demand for cooling water means vastly fewer organisms are being pinned against filtering screens or killed as they are swept through the plant.
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An ambitious 1989 study of impacts by the California Coastal Commission found that stocks of Queenfish, a major coastal food source for commercial and sport-fish species, had an estimated 13 percent decline across the bight.
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