PETITION TO INSPECT UNIT 1 AT

DIABLO CANYON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT NOW!

TO: NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AND GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM:      

Dear Commissioners and Governor Newsom: 

We join thousands of Californians who are asking that you take action at Diablo Canyon to protect our safety and economic future. Diablo Canyon Unit One will be shut for at least 50 days for refueling starting in October. Given the strong evidence of embrittlement, which could cause the reactor vessel to shatter like glass if it were flooded with cooling water in an emergency and thereby cause a catastrophic meltdown, it is very important to halt the loading of new fuel into the reactor until the public resolution of critical issues:

1.      Diablo Canyon Unit 1 must be closed immediately because the pressure vessel has not been demonstrated to be safe to operate. The refueling outage now scheduled for October should be accelerated. See San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace/Friends of the Earth Petition;

2.      Diablo Canyon Unit 1 was last tested for EMBRITTLEMENT in 2003; it must be tested during the coming refueling outage and results made available to the public before refueling;

3.      Diablo Canyon Unit 1 reactor vessel’s key components must be ULTRASONICALLY TESTED for CRACKING, as mandated by NRC regulations; 

4.      The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must hold an EMERGENCY HEARING to consider critical new evidence about embrittlement of the Unit 1 reactor vessel and the results of additional tests and inspections conducted during the refueling outage.;

5.      The State of California must withhold disbursement of all funds from SB 846 until all embrittlement issues are clarified at the Unit 1 reactor vessel; 

6.      PG&E must sponsor a Level III Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC 3) study to update the earthquake analysis at Diablo Canyon before the NRC issues a license to extend operations at the plant;

7.      PG&E, state and local officials must update evacuation plans to reflect population growth;

8.      PG&E must provide Potassium Iodide pills by mail to every household in the Emergency Planning Zone. Instructions for administration of the Potassium Iodide must accompany each packet along with a link to an instructional video on emergency planning and proper use of the medication.

We demand that BEFORE DIABLO CANYON UNIT 1 REFUELS, you subject these and other critical issues to open public scrutiny. The decision on Diablo Canyon’s future must be made by the NRC in conjunction with the Governor, the California State Legislature, the CPUC, state agencies, and the public.