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By Rochelle Becker / Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility

This week, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a roundtable on the status of emergency planning for our nation's nuclear plants. It was apparent that all who sat around that table were concerned about safely keeping the public from harm in the event the unthinkable should become reality. It is important that all communities are prepared in the remote, but possible, event of a radioactive release.

Everyone around the NRC's table had put a great deal of time into planning for such an event, and it was very unpleasant for them to hear that many doubt the public can be successfully evacuated and that shelter is woefully inadequate. The inadequacy is not for lack of planning but simply it is obvious "chaos" has not seriously been considered; that there could be the loss of vital roadways to evacuate; that an event that resulted in a radioactive release could also damage important infrastructure; and that parents will abandon their emergency planning positions to assure their children are safe.

Sadly, while we sat in a comfortable hotel room discussing possible radioactive tragedies in Maryland, we were also learning of the horrific fears, frustrations and heartbreaking stories ensuing from the damage Hurricane Katrina wreaked on Louisiana and Mississippi this week.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the nation has increasingly questioned the vulnerability of the nation's nuclear plants. Hurricane Katrina has reminded us that Mother Nature is also a force to be reckoned with when planning for emergencies.

In Louisiana, the NRC had the foresight to shut down the Waterford Nuclear Plant 13 hours in advance of the hurricane. The plant remains offline. However, earthquakes do not afford utilities such advance warnings.

It was evident during discussions that neither the NRC nor the utilities believe nuclear plants can be damaged to the point there will be a major radioactive release and an immediate evacuation or sheltering will be necessary for the public. The emphasis was on slow-moving events. Everyone there is planning in earnest, and most are providing the tools necessary for emergency planning. But then so did Louisiana and Mississippi.

If radioactivity was released at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant due to a terrorist attack or earthquake, it is highly possible that many of the county's roads would be impassible. Does NRC policy or regulations allow for those simultaneous events? No, they do not. The Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility asked the NRC to reconsider that head-in-the-sand policy.

The nuclear industry believes the "design criteria" of nuclear plants will withstand earthquakes, fires, floods and terrorist attacks. The planners in attendance - from utilities, counties and the Federal Emergency Management Agency - all, except for those from New York, consistently said in conversations during breaks they were more concerned with chemical spills, as those facilities are not nearly as robust as nuclear plants.

While that may be true, for planning we must imagine the unimaginable - Sept. 11 was a hard lesson to learn and must not be repeated. Homeland Security must begin at home.

Those who cannot evacuate must be trained and equipped to shelter themselves as effectively as possible. Sheltering has been underplayed in scenarios that address emergencies at U.S. reactors. Yet, sheltering is the most likely scenario in the event of a radioactive release.

The focus of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility is to assure the production - and resultant storage - of high-level radioactive waste on our earthquake-active coast ends when the current license for Diablo Canyon is terminated. However, as one of four panelists from the public sectors, I was glad the NRC had invited me to attend and participate at their roundtable. I was glad to meet the emergency planners and speak to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s emergency planning manager; both were sincere and dedicated to protecting our community.

I am certain we all want to believe California is prepared for a radioactive release at Diablo Canyon. Sadly, I left unconvinced.

Rochelle Becker is the executive director for the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility and a South County resident. She can be reached at (858) 337-2703. For more information, visit the Web site at www.a4nr.org.

September 7, 2005