Union of Concerned Scientists: “Dr. Peck is right”
Dr. Peck was the top safety inspector at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. His internal report to the NRC stating that the plant is not in compliance regarding earthquake safety was revealed by Friends of the Earth on Monday (the day after the 6.0 Napa earthquake a few hours to the north of Diablo Canyon). Barbara Boxer has called for Senate hearings to research why the NRC suppressed his report rather than respond to it within the typical 120 days.
Dave Lochbaum at the Union of Concerned Scientists writes today, “There is little doubt that Dr. Peck’s findings are correct. UCS obtained internal NRC emails and memos in January 2014 in response to our Freedom of Information Act request. These documents relate to the NRC’s review of a license amendment request (LAR) submitted by Diablo Canyon in October 2011. The company sought the NRC’s approval for its handling of the Shoreline Fault. The documents indicate that the NRC’s reviewers found the request unacceptable and planned to reject it. … In October 2012, the company withdrew its license amendment request rather than have the NRC formally reject it.”
The report continues, “Recall that Dr. Peck’s findings were that the company’s evaluation was incomplete and that the completed parts used methods and assumptions unacceptable to the NRC. The documents obtained by UCS by FOIA substantiate his findings.”
“It is clear and undeniable that Dr. Peck’s findings are correct: the company’s evaluation of the Shoreline Fault and its implications on safety at Diablo Canyon is incomplete and does not use methods and assumptions accepted by the NRC. Dr. Peck concluded, based on these findings, that Diablo Canyon lacked proper justification for continuing to operate. He focused solely on the NRC’s regulations as they applied to Diablo Canyon.”
Dave Lochbaum states, “For our Seismic Shift report, I researched four decades of history when the NRC, and its predecessor the Atomic Energy Commission, faced similar situations. In all prior cases, I found that the NRC/AEC did not allow nuclear facilities to operate with similar unresolved earthquake protection issues. … Thus, Dr. Peck’s findings are irrefutable and his conclusion consistent with nearly four decades of precedents.
http://worldbusiness.org/safe-energy-pr ... -is-right/