Diablo on Shaky Ground
On Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Diablo Canyon website, the claim is made that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission agrees with PGandE that Diablo Canyon would be able to withstand any earthquake that the Shoreline fault is capable of generating.
But PG&E has only preliminary information regarding the hazards of this fault, which lies 600 meters from the reactors and the radioactive waste storage facilities. The lack of data has compelled PG&E, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to plan extensive studies to be completed in 2013.
Furthermore, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board stated in a judicial review August 4, 2010 that “although the NRC staff’s initial review of the Shoreline fault accepts PG&E’s ‘preliminary assessment that the hazard potential of the Shoreline fault is bounded by the current review ground motion spectrum for the facility,’ … that review is rife with disclaimers and limitations.”
The San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace is using legal channels to oppose PG&E’s application for license renewal. License renewal should not even be considered until the studies of the Shoreline Fault are complete.
