The interesting scene in Dana Point. The next California Public Utility Commission meeting on San Onofre will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday Oct. 25 in Irvine’s City Council chambers.
Residents and business owners from all over over South Orange County packed the Pacific Ballroom at the St. Regis the Monarch Beach hotel in Dana Point last week. They were there to voice their opposition about the re-start of San Onofore Nuclear plant at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission-run public meeting . Police Chief Lynn Koehmstedt estimated the crowd to be around 1,000. A panel of industry and governmental professionals as well as local advocates on both sides of the debate discussed whether or not to re-start the plant.
One local resident suggested that if the plant were not safe employees wouldn’t work there. I guess this guy knows nothing about human behavior. Employees will return to work in an unsafe environment because they need their paycheck, especially in this job environment. They just hope that things will be alright, sort of how Americans go about their daily lives, even though they see life around them crumbling, from lack of jobs, foreclosures, rising gas and food prices. Americans like sticking their heads in the sand waiting for someone else to fix their problems. I’m sure this guy is probably the same guy who thinks the FDA is making sure our food is safe too. But the majority of those in the audience who spoke were aware of the dangers of San Onofore and made sure the NRC knew they wanted it to remain closed.
The NRC called the public meeting because Edison recently submitted a re-start plan for Unit 2, which it plans to operate at 70 percent capacity for five months. It looks like the public won this battle though and the plant will remain closed for now. Elmo Collins, administrator for NRC Region IV, which oversees plant operation in California stated that a review of the action letter would be needed before any re-start plan is considered.
The next California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) meeting is October 25, 2012. Gary Headrick from San Clemente Greens says they will discuss the financial aspects concerning the future of San Onofre. If approved, ratepayers will be given protection from unwarranted expenses and a clear choice about investing in truly clean, safe and sustainable alternatives. The plant has been closed since January 2012 and even during the long heatwave we had no power outages or brownouts.
The meeting will be held 8:30 a.m., at Irvine City Hall, Council Chambers, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA 92606. For more information contact gary at sanclementegreen dot org. (You know how to fix that one, right.)
A video of the meeting, will be available online at www.nrc.gov <http://www.nrc.gov>.
The workers that were at that meeting totaled about 75, out of a work force of about 1,500. There used to be over 2,000 before they had to shut down Reactors 2 and 3, and subsequently lay a lot of people off.
The workers that were there supported anything that would keep the plant open, and their paychecks coming. They were the real company men, cheering for anything that their bosses said. That plant has more safety violations than any other in the U.S., and management has created a hostile work environment towards any whistleblowers over safety concerns. There are a lot of employees that didn’t attend, whose safety concerns are probably more in line with yours and mine.
Who was the guy that said that the radiation leaks might actually be beneficial to local residents? Or did I not hear him right? Most everybody groaned when he said that.
Also is the SONGS design the same as Fukushima Daiichi ?
*Homer Simpson……keeps writing those complaint letters to the NRC. Hard to blame out of work folks….but the truth is – Flashing Lights, Bells, Whistles and workers running for the exists……are a pretty good indicator that any restart program better include every possible safety assurance. Sounds like they are going with a “wing and prayer” for a Christmas paycheck….instead.
Thanks Inge for this information, and for proving me wrong. I thought you only wrote about food related issues. Thansk to the residents down south OC, expressing their safety concerns which radiate to all of us, here in northern OC.