Gary Headrick, San Clemente
On Aug. 9 at Southern California Edison’s quarterly Community Engagement Panel meeting, a worker at the now-defunct San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) spoke out. He claimed that workers are underqualified and not adequately trained to load nuclear waste from spent fuel pools and insert it into silos where canisters are stored on the beach. He said safety is not put first, workers are understaffed and that on Aug. 3, one loaded canister was hanging on by a quarter inch, nearly dropping 18 feet to the concrete below. He promised his daughter he would speak out if Southern California Edison did not inform the public about what happened.
It was great to participate in the rally to support this whistleblower and demand a stop-work order until needed changes to the safety culture have been put in place. Not enough can be said about the bold, heroic figure, David Fritch, who put himself at risk in a number of ways, to do the right thing. Gratefully, Tom Palmisano, Edison’s chief nuclear officer and vice president of decommissioning, was quick to commend the act and ensured the contractor’s job was safe.
Now, we must take it a step further. We are fortunate to know a man of such integrity, who will undoubtedly take a stand for safety, even under the most difficult circumstances. I think one of the best things Edison could do from a practical perspective is to give David Fritch a much larger role in the oversight of all safety matters at SONGS. He’s earned the trust of the community. He has proven to be a reliable advocate for public safety, which I believe is the most important qualification. It is expertise and character that counts most, and that is the kind of leadership we need. For a job like this, you can’t have better credentials than that.
First of all, it is Gary Headrick – San Clemente Green, and the following is the most important part that was edited out (censored?) after specifically requesting that the links be included.
Now we must take it a step further. We are fortunate to know a man of such integrity, who will undoubtedly take a stand for safety, even under the most difficult circumstances. I think one of the best things Edison could do from a practical perspective is to give David Fritch a much larger role in the oversight of all safety matters at SONGS. He’s earned the trust of the community. He has proven to be a reliable advocate for public safety, which I believe is the most important qualification. It is expertise and character that counts most, and that is the kind of leadership we need. For a job like this, you can’t have better credentials than that.
See video at https://goo.gl/QeNAvK. There is also a petition for people to sign in support better safety measures at San Onofre. Go to https://goo.gl/2Bfujf
How do you like your electric bill this month? Thank Headrick and the anti-nukes at San Clemente Green; green meaning “we want ratepayers to pay more cash” because our desires to feel noble about our cause trumps the rights, wants, or pocketbooks of honest citizens.
Not content with getting San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station shutdown throwing some 1200 hard working families out of a job, they and their fellow anti-nukes at Citizens Oversight (there is a misnomer for you) are filing, or have filed, multiple law-suits to slow down the progress at SONGS which will only drive up the cost of electricity further but not stop the transfer of fuel to dry cask storage.
Beware of those who, without being asked, claim they’re speaking on your behalf. They won’t take a load off of your shoulders, they just take a load out of your wallet.