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Update January 23: The board passed this resolution, joining several Coastal City Councils in calling for an adjudicated license amendment hearing by the NRC
January 21, 2013 (San Diego) – San Diego Unified School District Board Vice President, Kevin Beiser and Board Member Richard Barrera are introducing a Resolution (Agenda Item H.1) similar to that passed by the Del Mar City Council last fall, calling for an adjudicated license amendment process by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the restart of the defective San Onofre nuclear reactor proposed by Southern California Edison. Eight and half million people live within the 50-mile potential evacuation radius around San Onofre. The action will be considered Tuesday January 22 at 5 p.m.; a press conference will be held at 4 p.m. Details below.
According to SDUSD Board Vice President Beiser, “The Board of Education of the San Diego Unified School District is considering this Resolution because restarting the defective Unit 2 nuclear reactor at San Onofre will have profound impacts on our children in San Diego Unified and the surrounding communities in the event of a nuclear accident regarding radiation contamination of air, water and food, evacuation plans, and long term viability of life in Southern California.”
The Coalition to Decommission San Onofre will have several speakers including a Del Mar City Councilmember, Public Health R.N., retired SDUSD Principal and Parent, and SDUSD Student Representative to support Vice President Beiser and Board Member Barrera and to emphasize the group’s core message to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission:
"We oppose Edison's proposed re-start of the defective nuclear reactor Unit 2 at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. We demand a full, transparent Adjudicatory Hearing and License Amendment process, including evidentiary hearings with sworn testimony and cross-examination which include experts independent of the NRC, Edison and the nuclear power industry,” said Martha Sullivan, spokesperson for the coalition.
Several Southern California City Councils have added their voice to our call for an adjudicated License Amendment and hearing process prior to restart of the crippled San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant in defense of their residents and businesses, including Del Mar, Encinitas, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, Santa Monica and Solana Beach. The cities of San Clemente and Vista have joined in Senators Boxer's and Feinstein's call for the NRC to modify its policies and procedures in light of the Fukushima meltdowns, to further protect their residents and businesses.
The reactor has been offline for a full year due to leaks, with no blackouts or brownouts. The troubled plant has had more safety violation complaints than any other nuclear facility in the U.S. The California Public Utilities Commission has recently indicated it is planning for shutdown through the summer, with the possibility of a permanent shut-down. Mayor Bob Filner has announced plans to make San Diego the solar energy capiitol of the U.S., an effort that would help meet future power needs without San Onofre restarting.
On November 8, 2012, the five Nuclear Regulatory Commissioners ruled on petitions filed by Friends of the Earth in June of this year calling for the foregoing. Specifically, the Commission:
· Referred to the Atomic Safety & Licensing Board (ASLB) whether the current Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) process is a de facto license amendment process, requiring an adjudicatory public hearing [this proceeding is now underway];
· Referred to the Executive Director of Operations (EDO) whether Edison should have sought a license amendment, with attendant adjudicatory hearings, when it installed the defective steam generators in 2010-11 [this proceeding is now underway];
· Offered to reconsider convening an adjudicatory hearing if the ASLB denies FoE’s request;
· Offered to reconsider staying the restart of the idled reactors if restart becomes “imminent” before the completion of the processes ordered above.
The Coalition to Decommission San Onofre is comprised of community-based, grassroots organizations in San Diego and Orange Counties concerned for the safety of 8.5 million residents living within 50 miles of the crippled San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, and for the economy of Southern California..
Additional Key Information:
· Southern California Edison wants to restart one of their broken nuclear reactors without fixing it first.[1] The plant has been off-line since 1/31/2012 due to radiation leaks and excessive tube wear in newly replaced steam generators[2] that are the worst in the nation. See Tubes Plugged Chart[3] and Fairewinds Associates report: San Onofre’s Steam Generators: Significantly Worse than all Others Nationwide.[4] The NRC says design changes in these steam generators are flawed,[5] making the reactors unsafe.
· California has excess power without California’s unreliable nuclear power plants, even during peak summer months, according to California government documents[6]. And the California ISO’s electricity grid Transmission Plan[7] says there will be no grid stability concerns with San Onofre shut down.
Event: SDUSD Board Meeting
Date/Time: Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 5pm
Location: Eugene Brucker Education Center auditorium at District HQs, 4100 Normal Street, San Diego
Event: Press Conference by Coalition to Decommission San Onofre
Date/Time: Tuesday, January 22, 2013/ 4 pm
Location: Outside the Eugene Brucker Education Center auditorium at District HQs, 4100 Normal Street, San Diego
Links::
[1] http://sanonofresafety.org/2012/10/14/union-of-concerned-scientists-questions-restart-of-san-onofre-unit-2-nuclear-reactor/
[2] http://sanonofresafety.org/category/steam-generator/
[3] http://sanonofresafety.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/pluggedtubesbyage2012-10-10.pdf
[4] http://fairewinds.org/content/san-onofre%E2%80%99s-steam-generators-significantly-worse-all-others-nationwide
[5] http://sanonofresafety.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/badvibrations2012-06-28.pdf
[6] http://sanonofresafety.org/energy-options/
[7] http://sanonofresafety.org/energy-options/
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