Experts clash on Fukushima radiation effects - Features - Al Jazeera English

Some scientists say authorities in favour of nuclear energy tend to deny the negative results of researchers.

helen caldicott@DrHCaldicottMousseau's work is outstanding. Experts clash on Fukushima radiation effects http://t.co/syoX4zvG9F via @AjEnglish31 Aug 14 - @DrHCaldicott on Twitter

In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 11 March 2011, the Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima was badly wrecked in a series of meltdowns and explosions that severely damaged three reactors and one spent-fuel pool.

The accident released enormous quantities of radionuclides (radioactive material) into the atmosphere and the sea. This led to the government setting up exclusion zones in regions around the plant and the evacuation of over 155,000 residents.

Three years on, calculating the injurious effects of this radiation on plant, animal and human health has become a matter of controversy, as different groups of researchers reach different conclusions.

Negative data ignored?

A broad scientific study by a United Nations committee, released earlier this year, was widely criticized...

more: Experts clash on Fukushima radiation effects - Features - Al Jazeera English

Diablo Canyon: NRC Insider’s Dissent - All Things Nuclear

...Dr. Peck found two kinds of problems:

(1) PG&E had not completely evaluated whether ground motion from an earthquake along the Shoreline Fault could damage vital plant components, and

(2) the evaluations PG&E had performed of other related issues used methods and assumptions that were unacceptable to the NRC.

Dr. Peck’s findings led him to conclude that the homework required for Diablo Canyon to continue operating safely had not been completed satisfactorily and therefore neither the company nor the NRC had adequate legal basis for the plant’s operation. He filed reports via two internal NRC processes—the non-concurrence and differing professional opinion (DPO) processes—to register his convictions and compel the agency to address them. The NRC is still assessing his latter DPO report, the one obtained and posted by FOE.

Peck Was Right

There is little doubt that Dr. Peck’s findings are correct. UCS obtained internal NRC emails and memos in January 2014 in response to our Freedom of Information Act request. These documents relate to the NRC’s review of a license amendment request (LAR) submitted by Diablo Canyon in October 2011. The company sought the NRC’s approval for its handling of the Shoreline Fault...

...[more]...

NRC Is Treating Diablo Canyon Differently

...[more]... 

Dr. Peck’s findings are irrefutable and his conclusion consistent with nearly four decades of precedents. 

What is not clear is why Diablo Canyon continues to operate with inadequately evaluated protection against known earthquake hazards. The NRC’s job is to establish and then enforce safety regulations to protect public health. It is simply not getting that job done at Diablo Canyon.

complete article: Diablo Canyon: NRC Insider’s Dissent - All Things Nuclear

see also
whats up: Tell Chairman Macfarlane: Shut down Diablo Canyon! | Friends of the Earth



--- PETITIONS ---

SIGN NOW > 

Tell NRC Chairman: SHUT DOWN DIABLO CANYON!
http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=16332


Petition | Decommission the aging Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant | Change.org
https://www.change.org/p/nuclear-regulatory-commission-decommission-the-aging-diablo-canyon-nuclear-power-plant 

NRC: Shut Down Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/nrc-shut-down-diablo?source=s.icn.em.cp&r_by=375489

8月 31日(日) 川内行動 韓国参加者を募集 | No Nukes Asia Actions - Korea

GOODBYE NUKES
止めよう！ 核発電所！

8月31日(日)九州・鹿児島 川内行動、韓国参加者を募集します

行こう！ 韓半島から九州反核集会へ “希望バス”で
破滅ではなく、共存に向かう韓日連帯の道へ！

8月 31日(日) 川内行動 韓国参加者を募集 | No Nukes Asia Actions - Korea

Will Diablo Canyon survive the next big earthquake? | Enformable

by Karl Grossman

As aftershocks of the 6.0 Napa earthquake that occurred Sunday in California continued, the Associated Press this week revealed a secret government report pointing to major earthquake vulnerabilities at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plants which are a little more than 200 miles away and sitting amid a webwork of earthquake faults.

It’s apparent to any visitor to the stretch of California where the two Diablo Canyon plants are sited that it is geologically hot. A major tourist feature of the area: hot spas.  “Welcome to the Avila Hot Springs,” declares the website of one, noting how “historic Avila Hot Springs” was “discovered in 1907 by at the time unlucky oil drillers and established” as a “popular visitor-serving natural artesian mineral hot springs.”

Nevertheless, Pacific Gas & Electric had no problem in 1965 picking the area along the California coast, north of Avila Beach, as a location for two nuclear plants.

It was known that the San Andreas Fault was inland 45 miles away. Then, in 1971, with construction underway, oil company geologists discovered another earthquake fault, the Hosgri Fault, just three miles out in the Pacific from the plant site and linked to the San Andreas Fault.

In 2008 yet another fault was discovered, the Shoreline Fault—but 650 yards from the Diablo Canyon plants.

The Shoreline Fault, and concerns about the vulnerability of nuclear plants to earthquakes in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster, are integral to a 42-page report written by Dr. Michael Peck, for five years the lead inspector on-site for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Diablo Canyon.

Peck’s report was obtained by the Associated Press, which has done excellent journalism in recent years investigating the dangers of nuclear power, and the AP issued a story Monday on the report.

In the report Peck writes: “The new seismic information resulted in a condition outside of the bounds of the existing Diablo Canyon design basis and safety analysis. Continued reactor operation outside the bounds of the NRC approved safety analyses challenges the presumption of nuclear safety...”

more: Will Diablo Canyon survive the next big earthquake? | Enformable

whats up: Tell Chairman Macfarlane: Shut down Diablo Canyon! | Friends of the Earth

TVC Supports Marshall Islands Lawsuit Against US with Legal Brief | Tri-Valley CAREs

The "Baker" explosion, part of Operation Crossroads, a nuclear weapon test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, on 25 July 1946.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Operation_Crossroads_Baker_Edit.jpg

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) yesterday continued its efforts to compel the United States government to comply with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), asking a Federal Court judge to reject the U.S. government's claim that the treaty cannot be enforced.

On April 24, 2014, the Marshall Islands filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court, alleging the United States has violated its moral and legal obligations under the NPT by refusing to negotiate in good faith toward complete nuclear disarmament.

On July 21, the U.S. responded to these allegations by filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the issue of U.S. compliance with the treaty is not subject to the Court's jurisdiction.

Yesterday, the RMI filed an Opposition to the U.S. motion to dismiss, explaining why the Court cannot and should not look the other way.

The brief explains, among other points, that RMI is not asking the Court to decide whether the United States should enter into the NPT, or whether the NPT is a good or a bad treaty for the United States. Instead, the Marshall Islands makes the legally grounded argument that while the Non-Proliferation Treaty is in effect and the U.S. is a party to it, there is no choice but for the U.S. to comply with it.

Additionally, the brief points to prior rulings in U.S. courts make it clear that it is the courts that determine compliance with the law, not the Executive. It points out that the U.S. Constitution says "ALL" treaties are the supreme law of this nation, not just some treaties, or the treaties the current President happens to prefer at any particular time. The NPT is a treaty, and under the plain language of our Constitution, the federal courts are charged with interpreting it, and resolving disputes involving it, such as this dispute.

Tri-Valley CAREs was called upon to file an Amicus Curiae brief regarding the proper venue in federal court. The RMI wishes to have the case heard in the Northern District of California, home to significant nuclear weapons research and development at Livermore Lab. However, the Government's Motion to Dismiss alleged that the nuclear weapons work at the Lab was tangentially related to NPT compliance and argued that the case should be dismissed for lack of venue, or in the alternative, be moved to Washington DC District Court. Tri-Valley CAREs brief describes the significant nuclear weapons work being done at Livermore and the legal basis for maintaining venue in the Northern District of Califonia as preferred by the RMI.

The RMI was used as the testing ground for 67 nuclear tests conducted by the United States from 1946 to 1958. These tests - equivalent to 1.7 Hiroshima bombs being exploded daily for 12 years - resulted in lasting health and environmental problems for the Marshall Islanders. The RMI Nuclear Zero lawsuit against the U.S. seeks no compensation, but rather, seeks action to commence and conclude negotiations for complete nuclear disarmament by 2020, thus ending the nuclear weapons threat for all humanity, now and in the future.

Tony de Brum, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Marshall Islands, emphasizes that the Marshallese people "have suffered the catastrophic and irreparable damage of these weapons, and we vow to fight so that no one else on earth will ever again experience these atrocities."

Click here to read the Complaint filed by the RMI in United States District Court.

Click here to read the Government's Motion to Dismiss

Click here to read the RMI's Opposition to the Government's Motion to Dismiss

Click hereto read Tri-Valley CAREs Amicus Brief

TVC Supports Marshall Islands Lawsuit Against US with Legal Brief | Tri-Valley CAREs

Why Nukes Can't Save the Climate. Reason #7. Too Many Nuclear Weapons

Reason #7. Too Many Nuclear Weapons.

Operation of the 1,500 or more new reactors necessary for nuclear power to play a meaningful role in reducing carbon emissions would require a dozen or more new uranium enrichment plants, and would result in the production of thousands of tons of plutonium (each reactor produces about 500 pounds of plutonium per year), posing untenable nuclear proliferation threats.

more reasons at: whats up: reasons nukes can't save the planet | 9.21 PEOPLES CLIMATE MARCH, NYC: nuclear-free, carbon-free contingent

Make history: Join us in NYC on September 21, 2014.

People's Climate March Hub: http://peoplesclimate.org/nonuclearpower/

Resources, flyers, info: http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/climatemarchhome.htm

SIGN UP: Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent to People's Climate March
http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5502/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=71744

Why We Are Marching: Statement of the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent; pdf version for downloading/printing
http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/ncfccwhywearemarching.htm
http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/climatemarchstatement.pdf

Endorsers of Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent. We now have 120+ organizational endorsers! To endorse, send your name, organization name, city, state, country (if outside U.S.) to nirsnet@nirs.org. Individuals: Endorse the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent here.
http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/ncfccendorsers.htm
http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5502/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18247

Take Action: Tell EPA to take nuclear support out of its carbon rules.
http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5502/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18179

Press release announcing Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent, August 4, 2014. pdf.
http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/marchpr8414.pdf

DIY: Mobilize for the People's Climate March, Nuclear Free Carbon-Free Contingent! How-to guide from NIRS! in pdf format
http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/diymobilize.htm
http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/diymobilizing.pdf

--- Flyers: Why Nukes Can't Save the Climate:
[visit http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/climatemarchhome.htm to find these] -

Reason #1. Too Many Reactors, Not Enough Carbon Emissions pdf version (best for downloading and printing). jpg version (best for posting online). Word version (take out NIRS contact info and add your group's info).

Reason #2. Nuclear power costs too much. pdf version (best for downloading and printing). jpg version (best for posting online). Word version (take out NIRS contact info and add your group's info).

Reason #3. Nuclear Power would take too long. pdf version (best for downloading and printing). jpg version (best for posting online). Word version (take out NIRS contact info and add your group's info).

Reason #4. New Reactor Designs: Too Slow, No Demand. pdf version (best for downloading and printing). jpg version (best for posting online). Word version (take out NIRS contact info and add your group's info).

Reason #5. Too Much Radioactive Waste. pdf version (best for downloading and printing). jpg version (best for posting online). Word version (take out NIRS contact info and add your group's info).

Reason #6. Too Little Safety. pdf version (best for downloading and printing). jpg version (best for posting online). Word version (take out NIRS contact info and add your group's info). -- MORE TO COME!

--- Background Reading

Briefing Paper: Nuclear Energy is Dirty Energy (and does not fit in a clean energy standard). Revised and updated, July 2014. pdf
http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/nuclearenergyisdirtyenergy2014.pdf

Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free: Links to studies showing different pathways to a nuclear-free, carbon-free energy system by mid-century--if not sooner.
http://www.nirs.org/nuclearfreecarbonfree/nuclearfreecarbonfreehome.htm

If not nuclear power, what? NIRS' Michael Mariotte on DailyKos, June 27, 2012.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/07/1098283/-If-not-nuclear-power-what

Top 10 Reasons Nuclear Power Won't Save the Climate. NIRS' Michael Mariotte on DailyKos, August 18, 2009 (and still valid).
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/08/18/766224/-TOP-10-REASONS-NUKES-WON-rsquo-T-SAVE-CLIMATE

--- Join us online:

People's Climate March Hub: http://peoplesclimate.org/nonuclearpower/

Facebook Groups Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nukefreeclimatefreemarch

Tumblr Page: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nirsclimatemarch

Join the e-mail listserv: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/nfcf-climate-march

Nuclear Information and Resource Service - NIRS
http://www.nirs.org/
https://www.facebook.com/nonukesnirs


see also:

whats up: reasons nukes can't save the planet | 9.21 PEOPLES CLIMATE MARCH, NYC: nuclear-free, carbon-free contingent

whats up: #BustTheMyth
you can't nuke global warming!

By another name, NRC Commission blesses Nuclear Waste Confidence | Beyond Nuclear

Environmental coalition members from the Crabshell Alliance, Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Campaign, NIRS, PSR, NEIS, and Public Citizen "just say NO!" at the NRC HQ nuke waste con game public comment meeting on 11/14/13 in Rockville, MD. Photo credit David Martin and Erica Grey.Today, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) four Commissioners blessed the NRC staff's "Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel" Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) and Rule, previously called the NRC's "Nuclear Waste Confidence" policy.

The vote went ahead, despite widespread calls for Commissioner William Magwood to resign, or recuse himself, due to conflict of interest, and despite a call for NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane to postpone the vote until after Commissioner Magwood's departure from the agency on Aug. 31st.

The Commissioners' explanations for their votes included a partial objection by NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane, that NRC staff had not adequately considered the "catastrophe" that would unfold over time, if institutional control were to be lost over irradiated nuclear fuel storage. However, even she joined NRC Commissioners Kristine Svinicki, William Ostendorff, and Magwood, in approving finalization of the GEIS and Rule, pending a few, very minor corrections.

She also joined their unanimous Memorandum and Order, that stays on final NRC approvals for some two dozen operating license proceedings -- both at pending old reactor license extensions, as well as in proposed new reactor combined Construction and Operating License Application (COLA) proceedings -- be ended. Thus, licenses can now be approved by NRC licensing boards, 30 days after publication of these decisions in the Federal Register, which is set for next month.

These include the proposed new Fermi 3, MI and Grand Gulf 2, MS COLA proceedings, and several old reactor license extension proceedings (Seabrook, NH; Davis-Besse, OH; Grand Gulf Unit 1, MS; Fermi 2, MI), in which Beyond Nuclear has intervened, opposing NRC's approval of the operating licenses.

Thus, the NRC has ignored many tens of thousands of public comments, including in-depth comments made by Beyond Nuclear, a coalition of three dozen environmental groups, and acoalition of state governments and Native American tribes. The NRC has blessed the continued generation of forever deadly high-level radioactive waste, attempting to take the issue off the table in pending, and future, reactor licensing proceedings. But the big question remains: will NRC's flagrant flouting of federal court orders be allowed to stand?

Explaining how the NRC could, yet again, bless the "nuke waste con game," despite the inherent environmental and safety risks, Mother Jones quoted Beyond Nuclear's Radioactive Waste Watchdog, Kevin Kamps: "The industry crawls all over that place in terms of lobbying. They own that place."

Beyond Nuclear - Home - By another name, NRC Commission blesses Nuclear Waste Confidence

Tell Chairman Macfarlane: Shut down Diablo Canyon! | Friends of the Earth

This week, the Associated Press revealed that the nuclear reactors at Diablo Canyon are surrounded by faults capable of causing an earthquake far larger than they were designed to withstand. There is no way that the NRC should allow these reactors to continue to operate given this new information.

Demand that Chairman Macfarlane put peoples' safety ahead of profits and shut down Diablo Canyon!

SIGN NOW!

find a second petition here: Petition | Please Decommission the aging Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant until it can be Earthquake Tested. | Change.org




▶ Diablo Canyon On Shaky Ground ~ Tell Allison Macfarlane to Shut It Down - YouTube

[VIDEO] -- Link Here to Sign Petition Here:http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action3/c... This week, the Associated Press revealed that the nuclear reactors at Diablo Canyon are surrounded by faults capable of causing an earthquake far larger than they were designed to withstand. There is no way that the NRC should allow these reactors to continue to operate given this new information.

Demand that Chairman Macfarlane put peoples' safety ahead of profits and shut down Diablo Canyon! http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action3/c...

Danger at Diablo Canyon ~ Last California Nuclear Plant Standing
Sitting on top of SEVERAL FAULT LINES. Holding Tons of nuclear fuel waste with no place to put the waste.
Mothers for Peace Spokeswoman Linda Seeley explains the many risks posed to California by the continued operation of PG&E's aged two-unit Diablo Canyon nuclear plant near San Luis Obispo, and why, like San Onofre was recently, it should be shutdown permanently - NOW.
This is another in the 'Preview Interview' series from the forthcoming EON documentary SHUTDOWN: The Case of San Onofre - "The Nuclear Free California Movement Rides Again."
The facility operated with some emergency systems disabled for nearly 18 months! Independent journalist Leuren Moret, a trained geophysicist who authored a 2004 Japan Times article predicting that an earthquake would lead to nuclear disaster in Japan, said it's "crazy" to allow Diablo Canyon to continue operating in the seismically active region, which is at the edge of the same tectonic plate that caused the Japan earthquake.
2011~Concerns about the seismic safety at the nuclear power plant were raised during a hearing of the California Legislature's Utilities and Commerce Committee. They were also raised in a letter sent to nuclear regulators by the state's U.S. senators.
Published on Jul 30, 2013 Thank you to eon3
http://youtu.be/UOcPoXZZPRo

"Roughly 424,000 live within 50 miles of the Diablo Canyon and 7.4 million live within 50 miles of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station," senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein wrote in the letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

NEED TO KNOW | Double fault: Nuclear safety at Diablo Canyon | PBS
http://youtu.be/fUo1yaE79TM
Could a Fukushima-style disaster happen at one of California's nuclear power plants? The Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is near two California fault lines, and at least one critic, a Republican state senator, is questioning whether the utility that owns the plant, PG&E, is doing all it needs to to ensure that it can safely withstand the kind of earthquake some seismologists believe is possible. Need to Know airs Fridays on PBS. Watch full-length episodes of Need to Know athttp://video.pbs.org/program/1458405365/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/...
http://tinyurl.com/mfl4o2g
Double fault: Nuclear safety at Diablo Canyon
July 15, 2011
On Wednesday, a special task force assigned by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released its findings about the preparedness of American nuclear plants, the NRC's role and whether the agency should make additional improvements to its regulatory systems. The task force was formed in response to the Fukushima disaster in Japan. After four months of study, the group announced twelve recommendations including the call to strengthen oversight of plant safety. According to one California legislator, a place that might benefit from that suggestion is a small town in his district with a potentially big problem.

RACHEL MADDOW ON DIABLO CANYON
http://youtu.be/cL5mm3nFMvk
Rachel Maddow exposes the economics and safety record of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California. March 22, 2011.

Shaky seismic history at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Video
http://youtu.be/YqPyVYrQZKk
In these clip from the 1986 film "A Question of Power" (directed by David L. Brown) we see how PG&E and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ignored earthquake dangers at the Diablo Canyon site, costing ratepayers billions of extra dollars. Help stop this from happening again.

Seismic Threat at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Video
http://youtu.be/3292uOb3NV4
Rochelle Becker of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility tells the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that they must wait for PG&E to complete new seismic studies at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant required by California law before allowing the plant to relicensed for 20 additional years.

Shut Down Diablo
http://youtu.be/DJ88kxM50Cs
musical call to shut down Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant & all those in earthquake-prone zones...song downloadable athttp://bit.ly/shut_down_diablo

Diablo Nuclear Power Plant DISASTER - - next Fukushima
http://youtu.be/utfia6mgIA4

--- #petitiion: Tell Chairman Macfarlane: Shut down Diablo Canyon!

This week, the Associated Press revealed that the nuclear reactors at Diablo Canyon are surrounded by faults capable of causing an earthquake far larger than they were designed to withstand. There is no way that the NRC should allow these reactors to continue to operate given this new information.

Demand that Chairman Macfarlane put peoples' safety ahead of profits and shut down Diablo Canyon!

http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=16332
via Friends of the Earth International / Friends of the Earth U.S.

PROTECT CALIFORNIA FOOD FARMS AND FAMILIES FROM NUCLEAR DISASTER!

HELP PROTECT CALIFORNIA FOOD FARMS AND FAMILIES FROM NUCLEAR DISASTER! -- Get involved in NO NUKES!

SIGN NOW > 3 PETITIONS to SHUT DIABLO CANYON & MAPS OF EARTHQUAKE FAULTS

here is a partial list of anti-nuke groups -----

California Against Nuclear Power & Radiation (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CAagainstNuclearPowerAndRadiation/

Nuclear Free California
http://www.nuclearfreecal.org/nfcnet/

C.A.N. Coalition Against Nukes
http://coalitionagainstnukes.org/
- on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113622485391538/

Stop The Diablo Canyon Power Plant (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiabloCanyon/

Shut It Down: Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shut-It-Down-Diablo-Canyon-Nuclear-Power-Plant/136250713111949

Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Watch (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diablo-Canyon-Nuclear-Power-Plant-Watch/127280824062155

Occupy the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/OccupyNRC

San Onofre Safety | San Onofre Nuclear Safety Issues
http://sanonofresafety.org/

#OccupyNuclear
http://occupynuclear.net/

Nuclear Information and Resource Service - NIRS
http://www.nirs.org/
https://www.facebook.com/nonukesnirs

Beyond Nuclear
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/




SIGN > 3 PETITIONS to SHUT DIABLO CANYON & MAPS OF EARTHQUAKE FAULTS

whats up: Tell Chairman Macfarlane: Shut down Diablo Canyon! | Friends of the Earth

Hearings planned after call for nuke-plant closure | Diablo Canyon | LINKS

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A senior federal nuclear expert is urging regulators to shut down California's last operating nuclear plant until they can determine whether the facility's twin reactors can withstand powerful shaking from any one of several nearby earthquake faults.

Michael Peck, who for five years was Diablo Canyon's lead on-site inspector, says in a 42-page, confidential report that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not applying the safety rules it set out for the plant's operation.

The document, which was obtained and verified by The Associated Press, does not say the plant itself is unsafe. Instead, according to Peck's analysis, no one knows whether the facility's key equipment can withstand strong shaking from those faults — the potential for which was realized decades after the facility was built.

Continuing to run the reactors, Peck writes, "challenges the presumption of nuclear safety."

Peck's July 2013 filing is part of an agency review in which employees can appeal a supervisor's or agency ruling — a process that normally takes 60 to 120 days, but can be extended. The NRC, however, has not yet ruled. Spokeswoman Lara Uselding said in emails that the agency would have no comment on the document.

The NRC, which oversees the nation's commercial nuclear power industry, and Diablo Canyon owner Pacific Gas and Electric Co., say the nearly three-decade-old reactors, which produce enough electricity for more than 3 million people annually, are safe and that the facility complies with its operating license, including earthquake safety standards.

PG&E spokesman Blair Jones said the NRC has exhaustively analyzed earthquake threats for Diablo Canyon and demonstrated that it "is seismically safe." Jones said in an email that the core issue involving earthquake ground motions was resolved in the late 1970s with seismic retrofitting of the plant.

Following the AP report, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee announced it would hold hearings into how the NRC has handled Peck's recommendation. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who chairs the panel, said in a statement she's alarmed his report has lingered at the agency for a year. "The NRC's failure to act constitutes an abdication of its responsibility to protect public health and safety," she said...

more: Hearings planned after call for nuke-plant closure

---

---

HELP PROTECT CALIFORNIA FOOD FARMS AND FAMILIES FROM NUCLEAR DISASTER! -- Get involved in NO NUKES!

California Against Nuclear Power & Radiation (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CAagainstNuclearPowerAndRadiation/

Nuclear Free California
http://www.nuclearfreecal.org/nfcnet/

C.A.N. Coalition Against Nukes
http://coalitionagainstnukes.org/
- on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113622485391538/

Stop The Diablo Canyon Power Plant (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiabloCanyon/

Shut It Down: Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shut-It-Down-Diablo-Canyon-Nuclear-Power-Plant/136250713111949

Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Watch (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diablo-Canyon-Nuclear-Power-Plant-Watch/127280824062155

Occupy the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) (facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/OccupyNRC

San Onofre Safety | San Onofre Nuclear Safety Issues
http://sanonofresafety.org/

#OccupyNuclear
http://occupynuclear.net/

Nuclear Information and Resource Service - NIRS
http://www.nirs.org/
https://www.facebook.com/nonukesnirs

Beyond Nuclear
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/

whats up: Tell Chairman Macfarlane: Shut down Diablo Canyon! | Friends of the Earth