The Cape Downwinders Presents: “SOS – THE SAN ONOFRE SYNDROME,” Filmed over 12 years, this documentary dramatically chronicles how Southern California residents came together to force the shutdown of an aging nuclear power plant only to be confronted by an alarming reality: tons of nuclear waste left near a popular beach, described as “the center of the surfing universe,” only 100 feet from the rising sea, that — with radioactivity lasting millions of years—menaces present and future generations.

The film portrays San Onofre as a microcosm of this national problem – the mismanagement of lethal radioactive waste lasting millennia. This is a syndrome shared by all 55 nuclear reactor sites across the United States. SOS spotlights the essential role citizens must play to ensure public safety is the top priority and not contractors’ short term profits. Told largely through the eyes of five main characters, we witness how they mobilize their communities, become experts on the issues, and tactically wiser in the face of adversity. SOS – THE SAN ONOFRE SYNDROME is a critical warning that America’s 55 nuclear power plants, each with their own tons of intensely radioactive waste, stranded on-site in unsafe temporary containment, are putting their local communities and national security at grave risk.

*The event will begin with a pre-screening panel discussion with Cape Downwinders Director and Save Our Bay MA organizer, Diane Turco and Dr. Brita Lundberg, Greater Boston Area Physicians for Social Responsibility. The film’s directors James Heddle, Mary Beth Brangan, and Morgan Peterson will join the discussion remotely.