RE: Stop the madness

["Somerville, Mark" <MOS3@PGE.COM>]

Steve's right.



But, part of the problem is we are hamstrung by our own principles and sense

of completeness.



The public wants reassurance or at least a definitive answer.  We give

probabilities.



We're not wrong.  It just makes for an uphill battle.  



For example, the anti-nuclear sound bite last night was (paraphrased)



"If a big plane hits a nuclear power plant it will surely go up like

Chernobyl".  No equivocation, no list of references, no explanations of

force and mass and angles.  



We say: "Well, we haven't analyzed for that specific accident but we feel

that the probability of a containment breech is low, perhaps very low, and

even if a breech occurs the reactor is not necessarily at risk.  But, we

can't say categorically that a big release can't happen".



Who sounds more sure?  



Mark O. Somerville

Certified Health Physicist

Registered Environmental Assessor

Diablo Canyon Power Plant

(805) 545-4007

mailto: mos3@pge.com





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