San Diego's Nuclear Megaport

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@cpeo.org>]

The following is information on the permanent Nuclear Megaport at Naval Base
San diego that the Navy is building--and the community is fighting--in San
Diego. --Laura Hunter, Environmental
Health Coalition.

THE NUCLEARIZATION OF SAN DIEGO

ISSUE: If the naval nuclear expansion proceeds as planned at Naval Air
Station, North Island (NASNI), San Diego will soon be Ground Zero for nuclear
activity. Local officials and regulators are facilitating this nuclear
build-up at evry turn. People in this traditionally pro-Navy area are
organizing and protesting like never before to stop it and to protect their
health and communities. Some background information is listed below. Anyone
with information or who desires more complete information on this issue 
should
contact Environmental Health Coalition, Laura Hunter at:
ehcoalition@igc.org or (619) 235-0281

THE NUCLEAR NAVAL PRESENCE IS GROWING

The Nuclear Megaport includes:
-Permanent location of up to 4 nuclear powered aircraft carriers (2 reactors
each--each is 20% the power of a commercial reactor)
-Permanent location of 8-14 nuclear powered submarines (1 reactor each -- 10%
the size of a commercial reactor)
-160 nuclear warheads stored on NASNI makes San Diego the only nuclear 
weapons
storage site in California.
-Construction of a new radioactive waste storage facility to hold at least 10
years of radioactive waste.
-New construction of repair facility for working on carrier reactors at 
NASNI.
-New construction of nuclear repair facility for working on submarine 
reactors
at SUBBASE.
-New mixed waste storage facility for storing radioactive hazardous waste.
-Permit for 500% increase of hazardous waste for up to a year at NASNI in
spite of over 80 past violations of hazardous waste handling.
-Cleanup of 4 sites of radioactive waste contamination on NASNI alone in the
past three years.

THE RISKS

Exposure to radiation from a serious accident by the nuclear reactors could
have devasting impacts on the San Diego region and could reach Mexico. While
the Navy refuses to reveal the exact area of impact, the British have 
recently
revealed that the area needed to be evacuated in the event of a serious
incident aboard a trident submarine is 18 miles downwind. the area in which
people should be sheltered and given potasium iodide is 74 miles downwind.

Radioactive and hazardous waste will be trucked on and off the base through
residential streetes and highways.

The dredging of the Bay has been grossly mishandled by the Navy wiht full
permission by state regulatory agencies and has resulted in bombs being 
placed
on area beaches and a10-fold increase in air pollution from dirty diesel
dredges. The dredging project is the largest amount of air pollution (571
tons of NOx) allowed by the local Air District in a decade. This is the third
largest source of NOx in the county. San Diego was a non-attainment air basin
before this project was started.

THE NAVY DENIES THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE RISKS

The Navy has refused repeated requests through the Freedom of Information Act
to release information regarding the area of impact in the event of a
radiological release.

Appendix I -- the Invisible Index
Appendex I in the Navy's own Environmental Impact Statement which was stated
to contain information regarding the impact and design of a nuclear reactor
was withheld from the public as classified. We guess the "I" was for 
invisible.

At the same time claiming to have a perfect safety record, the Navy refuses 
to
release information to EHC under OFIA requests about an accident aboard a
nuclear submarine (Guardfish) several decades ago. If their record is
perfect, what are they hiding?

Tha Nuclear Navy ahs refused to notify public groups about actions to be 
taken
at the SUBBASE even when specific requests were made to be notified. Public
was told to read the classified of the Union Tribune every day to find 
notices.

A transcript obtained through a FOIA by EHC reveals that exhausted,
over-worked, tired submarine crews caused the assicent that released mercury
into San Diego Bay in 1994. Accidents happen.

A Submarine Commander was removed from command of a nuclear submarine.
Documents obtained through FOIA by EHC shoe that one reason for the removal
was frequent falsification of records about the submarine and that a drunken
submariner was allowed to watch-stand over a nuclear reactor on the 
submarine.

NUCLEAR NAVY MAKES NASTY NEIGHBOR

maybe the most offensive impact to this project is the loss of democracy that
San Diegoans are suffering at the hands of the Nuclear Navy. License plates
are being recorded by the Navy of those attending public meetings, citizens
are being investigated for asking questions, and videotaping of meetings is
common. Recent imiidation efforts include the Admiral's office investigation
of a local college professor who had filed a FOIA request on the Nuclear
Megaport project.

LOCAL FAILURE TO RESPOND

Although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has offered to provide stores of
potassium iodide free of charge to states who request it, California has
refused to request this free preventtive protection. The Navy claims that no
additional protective measures are necessary for any aspects of this project
apparently wishing us to believe that the chain-link fences will contain
airborne radiation from the reactors. This project is being built on an
island adjacent to a very densly populated area, next to active earthquake
faults and 1/2 mile downwind from downtown San Diego.

Although the City of Coronado (the adjacent community) continues to complain
about the over 400 trucks a day traveling to and from NASNI and many 
residents
are speaking out against the project, the City Council supported the nuclear
expansion and, in fact, passed a resolution supporting increased projects
virtually yielding andy negotiating power they had over future projects to 
get
mitigation to protect their citizens.

WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO?

The Navy has announced this it will release the next EIS in June for a 45 day
comment period. The document will examine the impacts of locating up to 3
more nuclear aircraft carriers in San Diego Bay. A public hearing will be
held in June or July. People who are soncerned should attend the public
hearing or communicate their concerns in writing to the Navy during this 
time.

Laura Hunter
Environmental Health Coalition

--
Aimee Houghton
Program Coordinator
The Center for Public Environmental Oversight (formerly CAREER/PRO)
425 Market Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
tel: (415) 904-7750; fax: (415) 904-7765
Email: aimeeh@cpeo.org

A Program of the San Francisco Urban Institute