PG&E to discuss seismic hazards

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• Viewpoint: Diablo seismic study is crucial to understanding risks

  Viewpoint: Diablo seismic study is crucial to understanding risks

  For as long as it has existed, the issues surrounding Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant have been complex and the stakes have been high. The production of huge quantities of electrical power, with its enormous economic impact, brings with it difficult discussions on issues such as the handling of high-level nuclear waste and the safety of plant operations in a seismically-active region. We have long wrestled with the costs, benefits and risks of this powerful facility.

  In the devastating aftermath of the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, our concerns about risk have been raised further. The unthinkable did occur in Japan: An earthquake and tsunami much larger than expected caused a nuclear disaster that will not be resolved in the foreseeable future. That event has reasonably caused us to re-examine the risks of nuclear power and its vulnerability to natural disaster.

  Assessments of earthquake threats to Diablo Canyon were under way well before the Fukushima event. Pacific Gas and Electric has studied

• Bruce Gibson will join Diablo Canyon science review

  Bruce Gibson will join Diablo Canyon science review

  San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bruce Gibson will join a panel of scientists who will review seismic studies being done on faults around Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

  Last week, an administrative law judge with the California Public Utilities Commission approved a request by the county to have a representative on the Diablo Canyon Independent Peer Review Panel.

  Gibson holds a doctorate in geophysics and has published research in seismic reflection survey techniques, including three-dimensional imaging like the kind to be used in the Diablo Canyon work.

• Viewpoint: Seismic safety discussion at Diablo provides cold comfort

  Viewpoint: Seismic safety discussion at Diablo provides cold comfort

  In late November 2011, PG&E sponsored a three-day public workshop on seismic safety issues for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The workshop brought together PG&E technical staff, their paid consultants and government earth scientists, all of whom are working on various aspects of PG&E’s ongoing seismic hazard assessment of Diablo Canyon, to share their research results.

  As a concerned San Luis Obispo resident with a geologic background, I attended a portion of the conference to get an overview of what has been accomplished to date. My goal was to distill down the diverse technical information presented into a few main takeaway points from the conference, and share these with the local community. I left the conference feeling less secure about living within 10 miles of Diablo Canyon than I did beforehand.

  The conference was divided into two sections: the seismic source section, which focused on locating active faults near Diablo Canyon and the type of earthquake they may produce; and the ground motion

• Viewpoint: PG&E reaffirms commitment to safety at Diablo Canyon

  Viewpoint: PG&E reaffirms commitment to safety at Diablo Canyon

  After the Fukushima accident, the Diablo Canyon Power Plant staff conducted extensive reviews of procedures, and both process and physical upgrades were made.

  With the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan and the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, questions understandably continue to emerge about the safety of all nuclear facilities.

  While officials at PG&E want to assure the public that its Diablo Canyon Power Plant is safe and secure, they also insist that much was learned from what happened at Fukushima on March 11, 2011, and afterward. There always has been — and will continue to be — an ongoing effort to maximize and improve safety at the plant in San Luis Obispo County.

• PG&E seismic mapping will have significant impact on environment

  PG&E seismic mapping will have significant impact on environment

  The State Lands Commission environmental analysis of high-energy offshore seismic mapping planned by PG&E concludes that the work will have significant impacts on air quality, land and marine animals, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, recreation and noise.