The Region : Foes Appeal Opening of Nuclear Plant

Opponents of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant asked a federal appeals court in Washington to block the plant’s planned opening on grounds that earthquake safety and emergency evacuation plans are not adequate. The appeals court approved Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the $5.4-billion Pacific Gas & Electric-owned plant near San Luis Obispo a little more than a month ago. But Mothers for Peace, a group that has opposed the coastal plant for a decade, asked for a rehearing on the basis of transcripts of the closed-door NRC licensing hearing that were leaked to a San Francisco television station. The anti-nuclear group said these transcripts show that the NRC “chose to disregard serious safety concerns solely in order to permit the immediate licensing of Diablo Canyon.�