Years ago I read about the geological “problems” with Diablo Canyon (in TIME magazine I think) - probably the mid or late 1970’s. After reading the article in High School I thought “there should be some way to figure out where the faults are?”, and got interested in that specialized field.
Went to college and got my degree, worked and moved a few times in my field across the country. Ended up helping out an older guy that was one of the “grandfathers” of the technology.
Going through all the stuff in his basement and came across a slide showing “Cross-section of Faults and Bedding at Proposed Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant”!
It was pretty cool - sort of an affirmation that I had made the right career choice. (Although it is a pretty small community!) So of course, Time Magazine had it wrong, studies HAD been done and everything was fine. But headlines that say “Nuclear Plant built near Fault Line” sells better. (Oh - and one of the first things I learned in college - pretty much everywhere in California there are faults.)
Sad to hear they are shutting it down over some stupid water permit.
I knew a professional geologist... who had investigated and mapped earthquake faults in the immediate vicinity of Diablo Canyon ... one fault you could visually see its surface tracing too...
this geologist was a man of the highest integrity....
anyway, he offered to share his work with the California power plant permitting agency (the utility company was required to obtain a permit to build the power plant).
The agency heads were then (and still are, albeit of course different faces nowadays) in the complete influence (pay) of the utility corporations (in other words, one of several corrupt regulatory agencies we know about across the country). They not only refused to consider the earthquake faults evidence, they also went out of their way to apply punishment to the geologist that he should keep the info quiet, not share it with the public thru, say, the media covering the issue.
They also, incidentally, managed to dismiss the issue of nuclear waste materials...... there was then (and apparently still is) a considerable concern about how to safely store nuclear waste that remains radioactive for thousands of years..... (like, inside that Nevada mountain?)
so anyway, those were the two OBVIOUS public safety issues about issuing the permit. The quake danger they buried completely. The nuclear waste radiation danger they dealt with and dismissed in one sentence....”all radioactive nuclear waste materials will be removed from the plant site in AEC-approved trucks”
and so they issued the construction permit for Diablo Canyon.
)(disclaimer, I was not one of the opposition people, my comments only go to the corrupt political regulatory/oversight ..... which all reports indicate has remained corrupt to this day...... )
CONCLUSION: just because there's a government agency does not mean the public is being served
sometimes, the public is being screwed instead
just saying...