Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel

Public Comments

DateJune 10, 2021
Decommissioning TopicSpent Fuel Storage
Comment / Suggestion:

Public comment presented during May 26, 2021 public Engagement Panel meeting.

MS. WALKER: Great. This is Kalene Walker. I'm down in -- near San Onofre. I wish I had done the research or had the time and known about canister choices before I was made aware of the issue. I became aware of the issue when the canister of the whole system had already been purchased and so it's been an uphill battle ever since, if you followed any of the drama that unfolded there.

I'm curious why you have a four-year -- why the -- those recommendations for a four-year cooling time to get the fuel out of the pools. I think that's really an arbitrary requirement that really limits a very serious important option as far as your canister cask choice.

Donna Gilmore of San Onofre Safety came and spoke to your panel a couple years ago or whenever it was when some industry representatives presented to you and I think she outlined some fundamental differences and there's two different types of containers globally. Only two types of containers. There's thin wall canisters and thick wall casks. The thin wall canisters is what the industry is using and what the NRC is allowing. They're extremely substandard. They vent air. They cannot be stored in a building. The thick wall casks can be stored in a building away from all of the environmental hazards. It can be a harding building. They are much more protected. It's like not having a containment dome on a power plant. These things are sitting out in the open. There's all sorts of other things. These canisters, the NRC knows they are prone to corrosion and cracking. There's no way to inspect for corrosion cracking. Mr. McCollum from the NEI stated that the San Onofre had the gold standard of inspection repair because the Coastal Commission approved our supposed inspection repair plan to rationalize that the fuel was maintained in the transportable condition, but the –

ZEEK:· The two-minute time has passed.

MS. WALKER: Okay. Simply, the inspection is only a visual assessment. I would highly recommend you look up SanOnofreSafety.org and just do some research. This is like the -- in perpetuity is the operative word, and regardless of what happens with decommissioning, this fuel and how it's stored, and there's the need for repackaging, has not been factored in. I could go on and on. Thank you so much.

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