Whose Fault?

If an earthquake fault caused a nuclear accident at California’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, whose fault would it be?  Did you know that Diablo Canyon is adjacent to two active earthquake faults: the Hosgri and Shoreline faults?

When we think of earthquake damage we think of buildings shaking and crumbling, pipes bursting and breaking. Diablo Canyon would suffer not only these traditional earthquake disasters, but also severe, dangerous mechanical threats. Arnie explains something engineers call "relay chatter". In three short video segments, he shows us what relays are and how a seismic event would wreak havoc at Diablo Canyon causing "relay chatter".  In addition, its proximity to two earthquake faults leaves it at risk for other mechanical failures and safety issues.

In this Fairewinds’ Video, Arnie Gundersen shares key points from his expert report for Friends of the Earth (FoE) regarding Diablo Canyon’s seismic quandary.  Arnie’s expert report is below, along with the entire FoE legal case file and submittal to the NRC.


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