Protestors Voice Nuclear Power Concerns To CPUC In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Those opposed to nuclear power turned out to share their views with the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco on Thursday. Outside the CPUC meeting Steven Mentor of Santa Cruz helped hold a two-story puppet of a Japanese man to remember those who have suffered in the nuclear crisis in Japan.
KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports:
"We're trying not to forget those folks. They could be us, and we're standing with them right now saying that this shouldn't happen again," said Mentor.
The protestors' goal is to shut down the Diablo and San Onofre plants, which were built near earthquake fault lines.
"We're of course, also concerned about what's happening in Japan, and we're also doing some thinking here at the Public Utilities Commission about what role we should be playing in nuclear safety in the future," said Executive Director of the CPUC Paul Clannon.
The CPUC does not regulate nuclear power, that is the job of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but it does hold the purse strings, and is currently funding seismic safety studies.
"PG&E has already requested a re-licensing from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the funding for the activities as people consider that re-licensing will come to the PUC as well," said Clannon.
Currently, nuclear power accounts for about 15 percent of the power in the state.
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