It may be the season for shopping for consumers. It may be a time to recharge for political campaigners. But for the anti-nuclear activists in the region it’s time to intensify their efforts. Inside are a half dozen programs, protests and events compiled by the Peace Resource Center for the coming days. Remember to make your holiday season about more than a trip to the mall.
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Anti-Nuke Activists Claim Victory as PUC Orders Finanical Probe of San Onofre
On the facebook page of a well-known anti-nuke activist was this:
VICTORY! Financial probe of San Onofre nuclear power plant approved!
The California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 today (Thursday) to institute an “OII” instituting a an “order of investigation” into costs and issues raised by the extended outage of San Onofre Nuclear Plant Units 2 and 3. Congratulations to all who turned out today to urge the PUC to take this action! The Scope and extent of the OII was/is NOT a foregone conclusion—our grassroots spotlight on this is building the momentum for REAL investigation and substantive action. Our coalition’s press conference was well attended. [Read more…]
San Diego Residents: Keep San Onofre Shut Down
By Michael Steinberg
A recent poll of Southern California residents found that most of them want to keep the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant shut down . The poll also found that the residents don’t trust its majority owner and operator, Southern California Edison, to keep safety as its first priority at the nuke plant.
” A strong majority of Edison customers want to keep San Onofre shut down and almost half don’t trust Edison to put safety before profit,” environmental group Friends of the Earth reported on October 1.
Friends of the Earth (foe.org) commissioned David Binder Research to carry out the poll. The company talked to 700 registered voters in the counties San Onofre provides electricity to.
The results: “58% of respondents said they oppose reopening the plant…Only 32% said San Onofe should reopen,” Friends of the Earth reported. [Read more…]
San Onofre Layoffs: Latest Sign of Nuke Plant’s Demise
By Michael Steinberg / Blackrain Press
Monday’s notice that San Onofre’s owners are laying off 730 workers—one third of the workforce—is yet another indication of a nuclear power plant in severe distress.
Both formerly operating reactors have been shut down since January due to revelations that key components called steam generators had rapidly and largely turned into junk. In following months promises of restart from the company have repeatedly been pushed back.
On July 31 Huff Post LA reported that this crisis had cost the plant “at least $165 million” at that point. This figure consisted of “$48 million for inspection and maintenance costs” and $117 million “to buy replacement power.” [Read more…]
Anti-Nuke Activists Strike Deal With Labor Over San Onofre Outage: Call for Independent Review and Hearing Before Restart
Safety Advocates Strike Exceptional Pact with Labor
One of the items approved on the agenda of the California Democratic Party’s Executive Board meeting in Anaheim this past weekend was a resolution that calls for an independent design review and public hearing before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decides to restart either Units 2 or 3.
The resolution was a compromise worked out between anti-nuke activists and labor advocates over the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant since its outages earlier this year. Here’s the final wording:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the California Democratic Party calls for an independent design review prior to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to permit a restart of either Unit 2 or 3, culminating in an adjudicatory hearing including discovery, testimony and cross-examination by independent experts on whether it is safe to restart the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant before it makes a decision on whether to permit a restart of either Unit 2 or 3.
Based on a final consensus between anti-nuke advocates and the Labor Caucus of the state party, the resolution is remarkable because for the first time since the crisis at San Onofre, labor advocates and union reps have come together to address the array of issues that has been forced upon them. [Read more…]
