TAKE ACTION TO OPPOSE DIABLO!
TWO MEETINGS
Thursday, November 14, 2024 – WEBINAR, 10am – 1pm PT
Webinar Meeting Number: 276 731 807 163
Webinar Password: xjjaAb
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 – IN PERSON, 6pm – 9pm PT
Courtyard San Luis Obispo, 1605 Calle Joaquin Road
The Nuclear Regulatory is hosting a webinar and an in-person public meeting seeking public comment on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for renewing the operating licenses of Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.
More info: NRC Meeting Announcement
WRITTEN COMMENTS are also being accepted until December 16.
SPEAK UP! SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!
Talking Points
SEISMIC
- PG&E’s seismic update is deficient. The Independent Peer Review Panel (IPRP) of the CA Public Utilities Commission refused to endorse PG&E’s latest seismic assessment, stating that PG&E had not done a thorough job. The NRC should demand rigorous, peer-reviewed seismic analysis from PG&E, approved by the IPRP.
- The SEIS does not consider the findings of Dr. Peter Bird, Professor Emeritus Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, who has estimated that the chances of an earthquake causing core damage at Diablo Canyon is 47 times higher than PG&E’s estimate. The NRC should examine and evaluate Dr. Bird’s findings.
- New seismic evidence shows that the earthquake faults that run directly under the plant are vertical thrust faults, meaning they could cause much more ground motion than formerly thought possible. PG&E significantly underestimates the likelihood of a severe earthquake at Diablo Canyon.
EMBRITTLEMENT
Unit 1’s reactor vessel was built with faulty material, so it’s vulnerable to embrittlement. An embrittled reactor vessel can shatter like glass and cause a catastrophic meltdown. Despite this, PG&E has not test for embrittlement for over 20 years – and the NRC has approved the exemptions.
EVACUATION
The SEIS estimates that in a radioactive release from Diablo Canyon, evacuation will take place within 101 minutes for the first cohort and 176 minutes for the second cohort, assuming a 5.6 mph speed for the first cohort and 4.0 mph for the second cohort. These estimates are fatuous, and the NRC should reject them. The NRC should demand updated traffic studies, and the traffic studies should be conducted in a real time situation.
AGRICULTURE and ECONOMIC DATA
Site-specific agricultural and economic data were used by PG&E from 2012. These data are outdated, and the NRC should demand updated analysis.
ENDANGERED SPECIES
Numerous federally-listed species under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been found at the Diablo Canyon site. Continued operation of the plant for an additional 20 years would place undue burden on these endangered species. The NRC should choose the no-action alternative to preserve the biodiversity of the Diablo Canyon site.
MARINE ENVIRONMENT
Diablo’s Once-Through Cooling Water System is out of compliance with the Clean Water Act. The facility circulates 2.5 billion gallons of seawater each day, releasing it back into the ocean 20º warmer and killing more than one billion fish in their early life stages.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Extended operation of Diablo Canyon means the generation and onsite storage of even more high-level radioactive waste in an active earthquake area.
COSTLY AND UNNECESSARY
Mothers for Peace experts have demonstrated that Diablo is not needed to “keep the lights on” due to recently added battery storage. PG&E estimates that California utility customers will pay about $7.6 billion to extend Diablo Canyon’s operations through 2030, and state and federal programs are subsidizing an additional $1.2