In the wake of sobering tsunami warnings after a massive earthquake struck the east coast of Russia, Mothers for Peace issued an urgent letter to U.S. Senator Padilla, calling for immediate action in response to NRC decisions renouncing the agency’s commitment to fully evaluate earthquake risks at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant before renewing the operating licenses held by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E).
The Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors, built above a thrust fault, were designed (with NRC approval) to withstand a 7.5 earthquake, despite long-held concerns by seismologists that the fault region could experience a significantly stronger earthquake. An active thrust fault beneath the plant recently disclosed by PG&E, has not been assessed for its capacity to cause a significant earthquake.
Mothers for Peace contends that the damage done by NRC’s refusal to address serious seismic risks at Diablo Canyon is compounded by recent Trump orders to elevate production of nuclear energy over safety, install DOGE overseers at the top of the agency to slash staffing levels, and require arbitrary reductions in regulations, including minimal standards for radiation exposure. The Administration has also fired the Commission’s strongest safety advocate (Chairman Christopher Hanson) and forced the retirement of other experienced and safety-conscious senior staff.
In 2023, then-NRC Chairman Christopher Hanson committed before congress to a request by Sen. Padilla, to evaluate seismic risk to the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant as part of the license renewal process for the reactors. Chairman Hansen was fired by Trump in June 2025, one month before the NRC refused to review a decision by NRC’s Petition Review Board (PRB) denying a seismic enforcement petition against continued operation of Diablo Canyon.
The letter, signed by Jane Swanson, board president of Mothers for Peace, concludes, “we stress that the NRC made an explicit commitment to you and to your California constituents through the words of its chairman in the presence of the other commissioners and much of the senior staff. We trust that you too are offended by the NRC’s cavalier welching on that solemn commitment in a manner that would endanger much of California in the event of an earthquake comparable to Fukushima or to the one that just occurred in Russia.”
You can read the complete letter HERE.