SC GREEN GETS A BREAK ? AND A CALL TO ACTION
SC GREEN GETS A BREAK ? AND A CALL TO ACTION
Unit 2 start up was delayed, not that we are taking any credit for it. This gives us an opportunity to do more public outreach for safety preparedness and to follow other ways of formally voicing our concerns. The NRC could only confirm the delay but can’t say how long it will last. There are incremental steps to getting to full power, and at each point there is the possibility that more work will need to be done. We’ll just try to make the best use of the time we get, as suggested below.
I?m actually quite surprised that there has not been more of a public outcry over the concerns that have been raised lately, (other than the personal attacks one might expect). Perhaps I am not saying it in terms that will penetrate the noise of life that surrounds us. Or maybe it is simply because it challenges the illusion of safety and security on which we base our lives. Whatever the reason, I?ll present the message once again, as factually and succinctly as I can:
? We live next to a nuclear power plant that poses so much danger that every imaginable step has been taken to protect us from it. For 26 years, it was managed safely.
? Two years ago, the company replaced all of the top leadership positions with a new team who by many accounts has a much more aggressive, less conservative approach to business.
? According to the ?leaked? survey conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 25% of the employees surveyed are in fear of retaliation for reporting issues that could threaten our own safety. The survey results also indicate that there is now ten times the number of violations over the industry norm.
? Even high level managers continue to go to extraordinary measures to deliver warnings through San Clemente Green, (see LEAKED DOCUMENT at entry below).
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has done everything in their limited power to regulate this situation. Our city leaders have responded cautiously, acknowledging the problem, but not wanting to create undue fear while they work to improve the system. Our emergency responders have detailed plans that might actually work if the public was more willing to become better informed. The reluctance that people have demonstrated to hearing this message might simply be because it comes down to saying that everyone has done their part, except maybe for you, the Public.
We now have been granted another chance to speak up, to demand that our safety overrules profitability. Our best guess is that we probably have about five days to react to this new opportunity. All the background information you need is posted on our website, but there is really only one thing you need to know right now. The new management team is meeting the minimum standards of the NRC and can legally ?go critical? with nuclear fuel. As the NRC explained to me, it is a business decision for this new management team to make. Taking any further precautions is optional. The step we wholeheartedly support was recommended by one who holds a Nuclear Operators License is called ?Hot Functional Testing? (see whistle blower testimony in entry below). It is a way of running the system at full speed before loading the nuclear fuel.
Some claim that the previous leadership at the plant would not have hesitated to do whatever it takes to protect the public. It might delay start up by another week or so, but is that too much to ask? As ratepayers and as potential innocent victims we should be able to expect that every step will be taken to protect us and future generations. We still need to look into other serious long-range concerns apparently brought about by this change in management as well.
PLEASE ? Review the information on our website. Send an email to gary@sanclementegreen.org with your brief comments or letters of concern, including your name and address. I will forward them to SCE and any political decision makers or related agencies, (we?ll also post them on our website). In a government ?of the people, by the people, and for the people?, it is our responsibility to express our concerns and it is our elected leaders responsibility to listen.