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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEl Diablo nuke plant: Putting the foxes in charge of the hen house?
I can't believe P. G. & E. is allowed to do this in order to get their license renewed. Shouldn't the seismic studies be done by an independent agency? Frankly, it's not only an environmental nightmare but totally unnecessary. We know the plant lies between two major earthquake faults and can only withstand a 7.5 seismic event. It's a no brainer. Don't renew the license and decommission the plant NOW!
http://www.newtimesslo.com/news/7708/testing-the-waters/
Morro Bay and Port San Luis weigh in on PG&E's seismic studies
BY MATT FOUNTAIN
If all goes according to schedule, Pacific Gas & Electric could be launching the final phase of its long-awaited seismic surveys off the Central Coast by August 2012.
But following the most recent Environmental Impact Report (EIR) from the California State Lands Commissionthe agency PG&E is courting for the permits necessary to do the joblocal fishermen and coastal communities have raised concerns ranging from impacts on wildlife to economic losses.
For the final high-energy phase of its studies, PG&E proposes closing off 530 square nautical miles of open ocean from San Simeon to Guadalupe. Within the project boundaries, PG&E vessels will tow a cauldron of sound-generating air guns and sound-recording reflective equipment in a grid-like formation in order to get a better record of the seismic landscape surrounding the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
The tests have become the major prerequisite in the plants relicensing process, thanks to a state law adopted in 2006. But getting to the final phase has required a considerable give-and-take from all parties involved. more at link, it only gets worse
Cleita
(75,480 posts)If we have a Fukushima like event, it won't be just us living nearby that will be affected but a good part of the western part of the USA, Canada and Mexico. This should be of national concern, not just regional.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)It's very important to even non-Californians who might be in the path of any disaster that could happen.
LadyHawkAZ
(6,199 posts)but PG&E wields a very big stick in that area, not just because of providing power but also because they are one of the very few major employers there that pay well (the others, when I moved away, were the government and the prison). Things may have changed since I left, but there was actually quite a bit of solid support for the plant around there. And people have been lulled by the fact that there's been no major accidents so far. I'd like to think that Fukushima may have changed some minds out there, but somehow I doubt it.
Minor nitpick: it's just Diablo Canyon. There's no El.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)after the mess at Fukushima. It's crazy.
Earthquake, tsunami...hello?