[SDCPJ] Citizens demand action before any San Onofre restart

Citizens demand action before any San Onofre restart

July 31, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: 
GENE STONE, Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) 949-233-7724
GARY HEADRICK, SAN CLEMENTE GREEN 949-412-3366
CAROL JAHNKOW, PEACE RESOURCE CENTER OF S.D. 760-390-0775
RAYMOND LUTZ, CITIZENS' OVERSIGHT PROJECTS (COPS) 619-820-5321
ROSS TEASLEY, Earth/Ocean Society 949-235-7195

As citizens of Southern California, we are deeply concerned about Southern California Edison's projected restart of San Onofre Reactor Number 2 on or about November 18, 2012 and reactor number 3 on December 31, 2012. SCE's plan to start the reactors at a lower power to "see" if there are still problems is completely unacceptable. It is inconceivable that the government agencies in charge of assuring the safe operation of this nuclear power plant would allow SCE to experiment like this with the safety and health of our residents and communities.

We demand before any restart goes forward, that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State of California provide the opportunity for a full adjudicatory, evidentiary hearing, including full participation by independent experts and groups, for the purpose of deciding whether or not to issue a license amendment–without which the reactor cannot operate. Had not Edison and the NRC evaded the requirement for an evidentiary hearing and license amendment when the new replacement steam generators were installed we would not be in the current situation. Had such regulatory diligence been undertaken, the current problems would have been caught and prevented. A restart now, of the reactors with their failing steam generators, without such a hearing and license amendment puts our communities in Southern California at far greater risk.

End