tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post6641879273280209867..comments2023-04-07T05:19:44.951-04:00Comments on Yes Vermont Yankee: Nuclear Safety: A Note to CaliforniaMeredith Angwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-4601979967164851032015-06-10T01:56:35.452-04:002015-06-10T01:56:35.452-04:00@Anonymous: Via in-person citizen testimony at the...@Anonymous: Via in-person citizen testimony at the California Energy Commission (CEC) hearing in Sacramento, California on 27 April 2015, I noted the "moral peril" apparent in the present California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) Intervenor system. Instead of advocating for the ratepayer's interest, or advocating for sound scientific and engineering analyses, many of the CPUC intervenors actually advocate for <b>narrow special interests.</b> <br /><br />I noted in written testimony to the CEC 15-IEPR-12 Docket involving Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) that one "nonprofit" based in San Francisco - The Utilities Reform Network (TURN) will collect over $7 million in intervenor fees for its advocacy supporting the premature shut down of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS.) The ratepayers, on the other hand will pay <b>$3.3 billion MORE</b> to substitute mostly fossil-fueled power for the power formerly supplied by SONGS during its design lifetime. The "deathprint" for that substitute power is significant.<br /><br />These are some of the reasons why citizen groups such as Californians for Green Nuclear Power and Thorium Energy Alliance of Silicon Valley need to become CPUC intervenors to serve the public interest. The skilled and experienced professionals in both groups will provide sound scientific and engineering analyses. Dr Gene Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05687026821134221000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-30661154335963738522015-06-09T17:07:49.947-04:002015-06-09T17:07:49.947-04:00I have recently worked on an instrumentation proje...I have recently worked on an instrumentation project with some people who work at Diablo Canyon, so I was able to get the straight story on the central California seismic studies and all the hype surrounding them and the plant.<br /><br />It turns out that the people who did the studies for PGE initially wanted to do a high-energy seismic study to fully determine the subsurface structure and get a high resolution mapping of the fault traces. High-energy seismic studies involve generation of fairly energetic sonic pulses to achieve accurate images at depth. Now, some of the same groups who oppose Diablo Canyon intervened on the grounds that high-energy pulses would be detrimental to marine life, especially those species that use sound as guidance and hunting (whales, porpoise, dolphin, etc.). So they browbeat the firm into using lower-energy pulses. Naturally, low-energy studies do not yield as much information, nor is the quality the same as for high energy studies.<br /><br />So now the studies are done and the usual suspects come forward to criticize the studies, saying they are inadequate and inaccurate, because, now, wait for it, they were not high energy studies that provide the detail those groups said is necessary to really see what is going on. But why weren't those high-energy studies done? Because those same groups opposed them on "environmental" grounds.<br /><br />So it is the classic intervenors' game. Raise issues to prevent something, then say because those things were prevented the plant is unsafe. IOW, heads I win, tails you lose. It is a good illustration of why the current regulatory system is unworkable and needs to be vastly overhauled, or scrapped and started over.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-6301979419653037392015-06-09T11:34:37.014-04:002015-06-09T11:34:37.014-04:00Your assessment of the robust construction and the...Your assessment of the robust construction and the strong nuclear safely culture at Diablo Canyon Power Plant is spot-on. However, as I have noted elsewhere, nuclear fear-mongering is very profitable. One need look no further than Mr. Joseph Mangano and his "nonprofit" Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP.) Mr. Mangano has collected almost $1 million in salary and benefits from RPHP since 2001.Dr Gene Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05687026821134221000noreply@blogger.com