Politics & Government

Anti-Nuke Crowd Still Aims for Radiation Monitors

San Clemente Green, ROSE and others persuade San Clemente City Council to make the idea a discussion topic at a March meeting.

San Clemente anti-nuclear-power groups continue to agitate for independent radiation monitors with data that can be viewed live by the public.

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station sprung a leak last month, and although plant officials said any radiation that may have escaped was immeasurable by plant equipment, local groups have used the incident to advance their campaign against the plant.

The leak was relatively minor, plant officials said, and was quickly contained. Problems with tubes in steam generators that are virtually brand new have kept the plant shut down since, however.

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Groups such as San Clemente Green and Residents Organized for a Safe Environment have galvanized some residents most recently by calling for independent radiation monitors and an epidemiological study to determine if there are increased cancer or birth defect rates surrounding the plant.

EDITOR'S NOTE: San Clemente Green head Gary Headrick and ROSE leader Gene Stone both write opinion posts using San Clemente Patch's free blogging platform. Read Stone's commentary calling for monitors here.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

City Councilwoman Lori Donchak called for radiation monitors to be a discussion topic on the agenda for the second council meeting in March.

Donchak spent much of her 2011 year as mayor helping to organize educational forums about the plant after Japan's earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster in Fukushima in March.


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