ML20238D589

Limited Appearance Statement by Gm & Pc Eastham Opposing Storage of Radwaste Matls on Active Earthquake Fault

ML20238D589
Person / Time
Site:	Diablo Canyon
Issue date:	06/22/1987
From:	Eastham G, Eastham P AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:
References
OLA, NUDOCS 8709110273
Download: ML20238D589 (3)

Text

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i 274 Ramona Drive San Luis"Obispo I

~ California 93401 22,_ June 1987. >

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Diablo Canyon Board ~

c/o Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 We attended the hearings on Monday June 15, 1987 at Avila Beach, California relative to the propos,al to increase the capacity Canyon.

for on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel at Diablo, After reflecting upon this experience, we have' written' '

i Congressman Leon Panetta about our concerns. We enclose a copy of that letter for your reference.

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Georgef M. Eastham- j

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1 l San Luie Obicpo Californic 93401 22 Juno 1987 Congressman Leon Panetta 339 Cannon House office Bldg. '

l Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Panetta:

1 The best place to store radioactive nuclear waste materials is on an active earthquake fault.

II. Given that there is no better place to store these extremely dangerous substances (renember Chernobyl??), it is better to continue creating more and more of them rather than to stop, immediately and  ;

permanently, the operation of the nuclear power plant which is creating l them.

We wish to take vigorous exception to both of the above propositions Taken together, they constitute the core of the application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company to expand by five-fold the amount of " spent fuel" to be stored "on-site" at Diablo Canyon, just a few miles from j San Luis Obispo, where we live, work, pay taxes and try to enjoy the amenities of California's Central Coast.

It has been said that life is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. The present issue at Diablo Canyon certainly illustrates this point.

What high comedy to think that our beloved federal government hires highly educated and solemn individuals as a Nuclear Regulatorv  ;

Commission to "conalder the merits" of P.G.&E.'s outlandish proposal?

Merits 77 Come on nowll But, if even for a moment one feels that there is even a remote chance (let alone a near certainty) that the honorable members of the i N.R.C. would actually annrove P.G.&E. 's latest proposal, one feels '

absolutely numb to the core. These people know it would be impossible to evacuate this area in the event of a major earthquake. To have your entire community's very existence shrugged off in such a cavalier fashion ("the risk is only minimal"II) certainly has an aspect of tragedy.

From our perspective, neither the N.R.C. nor P.G.&E. have the

. slightest credibility on Diablo Canyon. He urge you to use whatever influence you can to bring the N.R.C. back into the real world before they take us any further down the insane course we are presently following.

Sincerely, fpfq2 eorg3 M.

.a s t. ham hdLi lovt Phyklis Cameron Eastham P.S.: We were told that the N.R.C. is required by law to conform to local opinion. We attended the public hearings on P.G.&E. 's plan to store, at the plant site, all of the high-level radioactive wastes produced by the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. The public was to be s

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2 allowed to speak on June 15, 1987, from 3 to 6 P.M.

at this part of the hearings,There were 133 names on the list of those who 71 of those people were heard. Because of the time constraint, only STORING MORE NUCLEAR WASTE ON THE SITE.)(EVERY. O There were many more who were present and wished to speak.

because of work or other conflicts.There were many who couldn't attend h I

Apparently, it didn't matter anyway, because, according to local media reports, none of this testimony will be admitted as evidence, and "Does this mean that the representatives of the N.R.C. sat there listened" for three hours solely because they had been told that they had to.

BUT that the community had gone to all that effort with to get some opinions "off the only possible satisfaction being that they had been allowed their chests"? Is it, or is it not true that to make nothing any that was said difference to the in that portion of the hearings was, going decision? Is that what mind when it directed the N.R.C. to listen to local opinion? Congress had in

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