nuclear-news

Momentum growing in campaign to shut down Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant

Grassroots Pressure Escalates to Shut Down Diablo Canyon Nuke Plant, EcoWatch, 14 Aug 15 Harvey Wasserman |  The two reactors at Diablo Canyon are the last ones still operating in California. And the grassroots pressure to shut them down is escalating.

Together grassroots activists have shut three California reactors at San Onofre, between Los Angeles and San Diego and one each at Rancho Seco, near Sacramento and at Humboldt, perched on an earthquake zone in the north.

But the two at the aptly named Diablo still run, much to the terror of the millions downwind………

the earthquake issue is now in the federal courts. So are questions about water usage. Diablo’s once-through cooling system dumps billions of gallons of over-heated water into the ocean every day, killing countless quantities of aquatic life. Two key California boards do havethe power to shut Diablo if they deny it further permission to violate state and federal water quality laws.

That issue is being fiercely contended on a state level. Decisions may come by the end of the year, at which point the battle will rise to a whole new level……

It’s also become clear that the sinking costs of renewables and efficiency have made Diablo’s energy extraneous. And that the jobs being created by the transition to green power will more than compensate for any lost at the nukes. Among other things, shut-down advocates are demanding that all key workers be retained at the reactors to make sure the decommissioning is done right………

August 19, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, USA