I am grateful that New Times published Ellie Ripley’s thoughts on Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant (“Safe, clean, and reliable,” Dec. 21). It is important to hear multiple sides to any issue. I am glad she has witnessed careful thought and management at the power plant.
However, her comments seem to miss the greater concerns regarding why constructing and maintaining a nuclear power plant near an active earthquake fault—not to mention anywhere else—is unwise.
Ripley was able to effectively outline each of the human foibles that led to the three major accidents at nuclear power plants in the past. Yes, each of these three accidents could have been avoided with better judgment in place.
But the greater point is that these accidents were the result of human error. And no matter how careful authorities are, there will always be some element of natural or man-made danger that hasn’t been taken into consideration.
Human error is problematic under everyday engineering projects—homes that were built on eroding cliffs or too close to flood plains, roads constructed on unstable ground, forests that have not been managed properly to avert wild fires, etc. Each of these instances can have devastating consequences when an accident has a serious impact upon life, loss of homes, loss of businesses or jobs—or if it has short- or long-term impacts upon a portion of the environment. However, the planet recovers relatively quickly from these types of disasters, while the environmental impact of a nuclear accident is significantly longer and wider in scope.
Furthermore, beyond the actual impact on lives, health, and the need to abandon radioactive areas immediate to power plants are the imagined fears that have a real impact upon local businesses. If one watches reports from NHK television (Japan’s national public broadcasting organization), every week there are reports of farmers, vintners, fisherman, and manufacturers who cannot sell their products, even though they’ve been deemed “safe,” merely from the taint of coming from the Fukushima area.
Imagine not only the impact on human and animal health, but the impact that an accident at Diablo Canyon would have upon property values, agricultural productivity, tourism, and more in a 25 mile exclusion zone. All an event like this would take is one of those scenarios of human error.
This area is so beautiful—until one looks beyond the immediate gifts of nature to the hidden nuclear dangers tucked away between bays. Go stand on the bluffs, breathe in deep, and then let your mind’s eye envision what could happen. San Luis Obispo community, please come to terms with PG&E, settle the plant’s shutdown, and insist on removal of radioactive materials to a safer storage spot to decay. Δ
Nina Egert is extremely concerned about a nuclear accident. Send your opinions to us via letters@newtimesslo.com and we just might publish them, too.
This article appears in Volunteers 2018.
PG&E has NO viable plan or facility–on the Central Coast or elsewhere–for permanent storage of the MILLIONS of pounds of highly toxic radioactive waste piling up at the Diablo plant. Every month the old, inefficient plant operates, TONS more radioactive waste is added to the highly vulnerable, temporary storage field north of the nuclear reactors.
There is NO denying the FACT that by all nuclear industry standards and regulations, Diablo does not have a safe and reliable facility for permanent storage of the toxic waste. In fact, there is NO ACCEPTED PLAN whatsoever on what to ultimately do with the waste. The long term cost of storing and monitoring the waste at Diablo in the current facility is staggering and, as it is now, will far exceed the cost of building every single elementary school, university, hospital, fire department and police station on the entire Central Coast. It is an expanding bill that will weigh heavily upon generation upon generation of Central Coast residents. And each day the plant remains open, the bill escalates at an alarming rate.
And, as PG&E officials have stated repeatedly, it makes no financial sense to keep the plant running. Furthermore, hundreds of people will be employed in the long process of decommissioning the plant in a safe manner. The Central Coast should look forward to being at the forefront and a leader in the proper and safe decommissioning of abandoned nuclear plants and dealing with nearby radioactive waste sites.
Let us not forget it is the FEDERAL government’s responsibility to find a long term storage for spent nuclear fuel (what you refer to as nuclear waste). All nuclear plants in the US have paid MILLIONS to the FEDERAL government to develop a long term solution. In addition, every other civilized country with nuclear power plants allows for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. We have outdated laws in place that forbid this reprocessing. Spent nuclear fuel will be stored at Diablo Canyon until the FEDERAL government upholds their obligation to do something about it, which isn’t likely in our lifetimes. I do not hold PG&E responsible for this failure, and nor should you. We can thank our lame politicians.
It is fearmongering like this that will burden future generations with devastation that scientists agree is actually happening – climate change and air pollution. If we are to support the existence of humanity and nature on our small planet, we need to make the best and most efficient use of our resources. A low emission and extremely energy-dense source of electricity like nuclear can provide for our growing population without wrecking our climate, poisoning our lungs, or devastating natural habitats. We have the technology, we have the ability, but we are standing in our own way. I truly hope that humanity becomes smart enough to save ourselves from our fears and step forward into a promising, abundant future.
Nina should imagine the impact of continuing to use fossil fuels instead of non-emitting, low land footprint, energy dense, and environmentally protective nuclear energy. Oh, wait. We already see the impact of this. 8 million people die each year from air pollution-related illnesses. And ZERO die from nuclear. The answer is obvious and the longer we wait, the more people will die. Shut down fossil, not nuclear.
This is NOT a nuclear vs. fossil fuel issue. Anyone who pretends it is, is not being honest. If nuclear is going to have a future in the United States, we need to have modern reactors and an authorized and acceptable place to put the millions upon millions of pounds of radioactive waste that nuclear power plants–especially old inefficient plants like Diablo–generate.
Nuclear industry employees Kristin Zaitz and Heather Matteson are either ignorant or are purposely misleading the public (not the first time) about deaths and devastation caused by nuclear plant accidents. Here’s a small sampling of evidence that they are either blatantly lying or have no idea of what they are talking about:
https://ourworldindata.org/what-was-the-de…