Please join us in our efforts to Stop Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant now! We're raising money to fund the legal challenges to PG&E's attempt to extend operation for an additional 20 years. San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (Mothers for Peace) is a non-profit organization concerned with the dangers posed by Diablo Canyon and other nuclear reactors, nuclear weapons, and radioactive waste.
URGENT CHALLENGE!
Diablo Canyon nuclear plant was scheduled to retire in 2024 and 2025. However, Senate Bill 846 – passed in 2022 – has enabled extended operation. State and federal subsidies have been granted to support this effort. Pacific Gas & Electric Company has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 20-year license extension, although SB 846 asks for only 5 years.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) exempted Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) from its Timely Renewal Rule, disregarding its own rules by approving continued operation of the Diablo Canyon reactors past their expiration dates without the required environmental reviews or opportunity for public hearings.
THE ISSUES:
Unit 1’s reactor vessel was built with faulty material and so is vulnerable to embrittlement. An embrittled reactor vessel can shatter like glass and cause a catastrophic meltdown. Despite this, PG&E has not tested for embrittlement for over 20 years – and the NRC has approved the exemptions.
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved extended operation without all the information required by SB 846 – and despite evidence that Diablo’s energy is not needed to avoid summer blackouts. There is new seismic evidence to show that the earthquake faults that run directly under the plant are vertical thrust faults, meaning they could cause much more ground motion than formerly estimated.
Diablo’s Once-Through Cooling System is out of compliance with the Clean Water Act. The facility circulates 2.5 billion gallons of seawater each day, releasing it back into the ocean 20º warmer and killing more than one billion fish in early life stages.
Extended operation of Diablo Canyon means the generation and onsite storage of even more high-level radioactive waste in an active seismic area, which remains toxic and dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years, and for which there is no long term storage solution.
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
Mothers for Peace, in collaboration with its partner organizations, is actively opposing extended operation of Diablo Canyon at every opportunity. Our legal team and experts represent us at the:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
California Public Utilities Commission
California Coastal Commission
Regional Water Quality Control Board
Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee
9th Circuit Court of Appeals
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Friends of the Earth
Environmental Working Group
Samuel Lawrence Foundation
Committee to Bridge the Gap
Environmental Defense Center
Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to the safety of California's environment and all of us who live here.