James Patton Darin R. McClure Interview Notes

Yesterday I was interviewed by Jim Patton the Main Anchor / Reporter at San Diego 6 News. We went all over the San Onofre topic, way beyond what is going on at the Concordia Elementary School here in San Clemente,

Here are a few of the topics we covered.

New health study for those living next to San Onofre,
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has asked the National Academy of Sciences to do a “state-of-the-art study on cancer risk for populations surrounding nuclear power facilities.” via @OCReggie the old study used county-wide data to reach conclusions - a blunt instrument that may again downplay the impact on those living closest to a reactor. (Residents in La Habra and San Clemente live in the same county – but few will argue that their exposure to San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is the same.)

High levels of radiation here in Corona Del Mar kelp.
These 131I levels represent a significant input into the kelp forest ecosystem. via @uscweb

What do I want from Concordia Elementary anyway?
I was asked if I had read, "What would happen to our kids in event of a nuclear melt down at San Onofre?" via CAPOUSD (sorry but this is not Readiness) I want to know where would I pick up my kids in case of an evacuation. How would I find this information if there were an emergency?

Public Real Time Radiation Monitoring in San Clemente
Special thanks to Creative Electron for using SanOnonfre.com as a beta tester of their product. Without the @iRadgeiger the closest public, real time radiation monitoring would be in Anaheim.

What is going on at San Onofre? 
Get the truth from Dan Hirsch, the man whos students found that the worst nuclear accident in US history is right here in Southern California, speaking at the San Onofre Shutdown rally, April 29, 2012.

Keep San Onofre Closed FOREVER!

Rally to Shut San Onofre / A short film by @AceHoffman
Guest speakers:
Daniel Hirsch -- Committee to Bridge the Gap 
Larry Agran - Irvine City Council 
Cathy Iwane - American who lived for 25 years in Japan

Other Speakers Included: Gene Stone -- MC, Ray Lutz, Libbe Halevy -- Speaker & co-MC, Mel Vernon, Tribal chair, San Luis Rey Band of Luiseno Indians -- Blessing 
Ace Hoffman, Cori Schumacher, Chrystal Coleman, Shaun Burine, Gary Headrick 

Music graciously provided by Charlie Imes and Reverend Stickman, The Occupellas

Sponsors/endorsers of the rally included:
Congressman Bob Filner, CA-51 
Citizens Oversight Projects (COPS) 
Peace Resource Center of San Diego 
Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) 
San Onofre Safety (SOS) 
San Clemente Green 
San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice (SDCPJ) 
Occupy Encinitas 
Occupy Escondido 
Talk Nukes 
Mimi Kennedy, National Chair, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and Actress 
Bryan Pease, Esq., San Diego City Council District 1 Candidate 
Kevin Keenan, Esq.

Respect Responsibility Readiness

Respect Responsibility & Readiness ... 

so began the 5th grade trimester awards here in San Clemente, with the 3 R's of Concordia Elementary. But I digress, this story started the Friday before. Seems there was a fire that afternoon at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant just 2 miles away.  Over the school loudspeaker kids, k-5, were told to report to their classrooms and to remain there. Once back in their classrooms the smart kids asked that the windows be closed ... 

That day we picked up our children as usual and went home.  Monday came, no notice, no email about what happend, or what would happen next, Tuesday, still nothing.  We have a school that will send out an email or a note home when the children have head lice, (seems the 4th grade is having a serious infection this year). Wednesday found me sitting at the principles desk searching for answers. 

Dave Gerhard, Principal of Concordia Elementary told me that he had called the school and asked for the kids to go back to their classes in case they had to notify the teachers about a "Shelter in Place" or "Evacuate" order. When asked by me why no notice was sent out he told me that the school district by the way of Mike Beekman had decided that an email or a flyier home was not needed because only 5-6 concerned parents called the San Onofre Nuke Plant to see what was going on.  Why would this be a factor I wondered out loud? Personally I think 5-6 parents calling is a significant number. I asked Mr Gehard to please send out a notification, & he did 2 hours later to a list serve apparently I and many other parents are not on. Some Concordia parents got this message, some did not.

What I have always loved about this school is the implementation of "ConnectED" or a "Connected Education" to learning, there are rain barrels to capture the rain, butterfly gardens to feed the Monarch butterflies that our San Clemente has started to become famous for. There is even a full whale fossil on campus. All of these things are brought into our children's education as they are happening. They are connecting what is going on in the real world with what is going on in the classroom. 

I asked Principle Gerhard, What does "Shelter in place or Evacuation" mean to me or my child?

When he let me know that the school was thinking of having a representative from San Onofre put on something  I let Mr. Gerhert know they were not on the top of my list of corporations we should be trusting.  The recent nuke leak they lied about, falsifying fire reports, misleading the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on recent upgrades and documented problems with their safety culture.  His words gave me a chilling effect that went up my spine. 

So here it goes, I would want to see from our school is an answer to the 3 R's.

Respect
Respect the dangers of the Nuclear Power Plant and keep the parents involved and educated. Before this fire incident there was also a leak at the plant. Parents in San Juan Capistrano were notified by telephone of the leak. The plant is currently offline because of mechanical failures and unusual wear of parts recently replaced. These are all things the parents should be notified of.

Responsibility
You have Responsibility for our children and not to Southern California Edison, the owners and operators of the San Onofre Nuclear plant.

Readiness is knowing what would have been expected of us next. If this were a "real evacuation" what would happen? Where would we go to pick up our children? What is the plan?

What could happen down at that fossil 2 miles south of Concordia? Watch this video to connect the news to your education.

Action Letter to Gov Brown

Governor Jerry Brown

C/O State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Brown,

We are looking for your support to keep California’s two nuclear power plants SHUTDOWN FOR GOOD.  Here are just a few reasons why:

1.      SAFETY FOR CITIZENS BEFORE PROFITS FOR POWER COMPANIES.

2.      The problem with the steam generators at San Onofre were caused by Southern California Edison’s upgrades (NOT LIKE FOR LIKE) with the increase of 400 tubes to increase profits, which in turn has put over 8.4 million people at a much greater risk of a NUCLEAR DISASTER in the 50 mile radius.  This will severely damage the world’s eighth largest economy, California.

3.      These two plants could not be built under today’s rules and guidelines for earthquakes and tsunamis, and the NRC will not force the power companies to meet the standards of today; yet they will overlook and easily relicense them.

4.      Evacuation plans are totally ineffective if a nuclear disaster occurs in conjunction with a severe earthquake.

5.      This week California's people and the state's vibrant economy were fortunate enough to live in a state with not one operating nuclear reactor. Both San Onofre and Diablo Canyon were shut down. The lights stayed on. Together with energy efficiency and an almost unlimited renewable energy potential in California, the State can become a world leader in energy for the 21st century; while at the same time achieving the essential reduction in carbon emissions. California will fail to meet this truly sustainable future while it continues to operate nuclear power. This week because of the nuclear crisis at San Onofre and the intervention of jellyfish at Diablo Canyon, California saw the future; and it is a future we demand. KEEP CALIFORNIA’S NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS CLOSED.

Your name_____________________________________________________________________________________

In support of this action are: Peace Resource Center of San Diego, , Citizens Oversight Committee, San Clemente Green, San Onofre Safety, Women's Energy Matters, Stop Fukushima Coalition,  SF-Bay Area Chapter, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles,  The Ecological Options Network (EON), Friends of the Earth, (ROSE) Residents Organized for a Safe Environment contact at: genston@sbcglobal.net

http://residentsorganizedforasafeenvironment.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/action-letter-to-gov-brown/

2nd Peaceful Protest at San Onofre April 29th

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Concordia Elementary School PRINCIPAL’S INFORMATION BULLETIN

No I Did Not.

From: listserver.capousd.org
Subject: Pirncipal's Info Bulletin
Date: April 25, 2012 11:20:43 AM PDT
To: "Concordia ListServe" <@listserver.capousd.org>
Reply-To: @listserver.capousd.org

Concordia Elementary School
PRINCIPAL’S INFORMATION BULLETIN

Dear Parents,

As you may be aware, on the afternoon of Friday, April 20, the Capistrano Unified School District received an “unusual event” notification from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).  Following the protocol outlined in the SONGS Emergency Response Plan, the District immediately shared this notification with all of the schools within the power plant’s Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ).  When an unusual event is declared at the plant, CUSD schools within the EPZ are directed to prepare to evacuate or shelter in place.

Upon receiving this notification at approximately 1:30 PM, I made the decision to notify teachers about the unusual event and directed them to remain in their classrooms with their students.  On Friday afternoons, many of our classes are typically outdoors having P.E. and are unable to hear announcements from the office.  Having teachers remain in their classrooms ensured that we could communicate directly with them to update them on the status of the event at the plant.  We communicated clearly that we were not calling for a shelter in place, which requires staff to close doors and windows, and to keep students indoors.   Teachers were told that students could leave class to use the restroom and that normal classroom activities could continue.  We simply wanted to keep teachers close and accessible for direct communication and further instructions if necessary.  We had a regular dismissal at 2:05 PM, and were notified that the incident at SONGS was closed at 2:40 PM.

I wanted to share this information with you in case you had questions about our actions on Friday.  Please know that student safety is our utmost concern.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this matter.



Sincerely,

Dave Gerhard, Principal
Concordia Elementary School

Connect Ed,


If this had bean an actual emergency this is what we would have done with your children. 

Irvine City Council Tonight 6PM

Arnold Gundersen speaking tonight before the Irvine City Council, 6PM, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA 92606, USA

Mr Gundersen is an energy advisor with 40-years of nuclear power engineering experience. A former nuclear industry senior vice president, he earned his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in nuclear engineering, holds a nuclear safety patent, and was a licensed reactor operator.During his nuclear industry career, Arnie managed and coordinated projects at 70-nuclear power plants around the country. He currently speaks on television, radio, and at public meetings on the need for a new paradigm in energy production. An independent nuclear engineering and safety expert, Arnie provides testimony on nuclear operations, reliability, safety, and radiation issues to the NRC, Congressional and State Legislatures, and Government Agencies and Officials throughout the US, Canada, and internationally.

Let Fridays Fire, Concordia Elementary LOCK DOWN & yesterday's earthquake be your wake up call.

Speak up my friends, you've got important wisdom to share...