On the Mediterranean coast of Spain, the resort camp of Los Alfraques presented a portrait of serenity the summer afternoon of July 11, 1978. Mothers were cleaning up after lunch or preparing coffee on gas burners. People in swimsuits had settled down for a siesta. Children were splashing in the water. From the busy highway alongside the camp there emerged a milky-white cloud. It drifted into the camp and formed an expanding white umbrella. The umbrella suddenly flared brightly and burst into flame. In only three minutes, the flames were burned out; exposing the blackened remains of cars, trees, tents, trailers -- and 102 human beings. Live people on fire ran insanely. Others were being scalded in the now boiling sea water.

Nevertheless, we recognize that many scientists, including climatologist James Hansen and our friend, physicist John W. Farley, now see a place for nuclear energy as a kind of last resort, given the dire planetary threat raised by the burning of fossil fuels—made even more dire by the current shift toward even dirtier, more carbon-emitting fossil fuels, such as lower grades of coal, oil from tar sands, and shale oil. If nuclear power presents great dangers to the human population and the earth, it also cannot be denied that the continuation of “business as usual” with respect to carbon emissions will lead to eventual social, economic, and ecological collapse, threatening civilization and most species, including our own. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that some are looking at nuclear energy as a lesser, or more remote, evil.

The DEIR is deficient and should be revised and recirculated for public comment. The fundamental environmental risks from the proposed project are not addressed in the DEIR, and it fails to take a hard look at alternatives. We strongly support the transfer of all irradiated fuel from the spent fuel pools as soon as possible, since the consequences of a spent fuel fire, if there is a failure of cooling in the pool, would be catastrophic. However, the cooling systems for the spent fuel pools should not be dismantled, because that would disable the pools which may be needed if any dry cask develops problems. The alternative of establishing a bunkered building with a hot cell at the Mesa or elsewhere higher up on Camp Pendleton should be seriously considered