Earthquake concerns prompt call to shut nuclear plant

[yuiyoshida]

Shut Diablo Canyon, federal expert advises
A senior federal nuclear expert is urging regulators to shut down the state's last operating nuclear plant, at Diablo Canyon on the central coast, until they can determine whether the facility's twin reactors can withstand powerful shaking from any one of several nearby earthquake faults.

Michael Peck, who for five years was Diablo Canyon's lead on-site inspector, says in a 42-page, confidential report that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not applying the safety rules it set out for the plant's operation.

The document does not say the plant itself is unsafe. Instead, according to Peck's analysis, no one knows whether the plant's equipment can withstand strong shaking from nearby faults.

In many cases, Peck notes, the potential for such shaking was discovered after Diablo Canyon was built.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Earthquake-concerns-prompt-call-to-shut-nuclear-5711717.php?cmpid=twitter-premium&t=4ce89978913c100abe