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ByMichaelR.Blood TheAssociatedPress LOSANGELES Aseniorfed- eral nuclear expert is urg- ing regulators to shut down California's last operating nuclear plant until they can determine whether the facility's twin reactors can withstand powerful shak- ing from any one of several nearby earthquake faults. Michael Peck, who for five years was Diablo Can- yon's lead on-site inspec- tor, says in a 42-page, con- fidential report that the Nuclear Regulatory Com- mission is not applying the safety rules it set out for the plant's operation. The document, which was obtained and verified by The Associated Press, does not say the plant it- self is unsafe. Instead, ac- cording to Peck's analysis, no one knows whether the facility's key equipment can withstand strong shaking from those faults — the po- tential for which was real- ized decades after the facil- ity was built. Continuing to run the re- actors, Peck writes, "chal- lenges the presumption of nuclear safety." Peck's July 2013 filing is part of an agency re- view in which employees can appeal a supervisor's or agency ruling — a pro- cess that normally takes 60 to 120 days, but can be ex- tended. The NRC, however, has not yet ruled. Spokes- woman Lara Uselding said in emails that the agency would have no comment on the document. The NRC, which oversees the nation's commercial nu- clear power industry, and Diablo Canyon owner Pa- cific Gas and Electric Co., say the nearly three-decade- old reactors, which produce enough electricity for more than 3 million people annu- ally, are safe and that the fa- cility complies with its op- erating license, including earthquake safety stan- dards. PG&E spokesman Blair Jones said the NRC has ex- haustively analyzed earth- quake threats for Diablo Canyon and demonstrated that it "is seismically safe." Jones said in an email that the core issue involving earthquake ground mo- tions was resolved in the late 1970s with seismic ret- rofitting of the plant. The disaster prepared- ness of the world's nuclear plants came into sharp focus in 2011, when the coastal Fukushima Dai- ichi plant in Japan suffered multiple meltdowns af- ter an earthquake and tsu- nami destroyed its power and cooling systems. Environmentalists have long depicted Diablo Can- yon — the state's last nu- clear plant after the 2013 closure of the San Onfore reactors in Southern Cal- ifornia — as a nuclear ca- tastrophe in waiting. In many ways, the history of the plant, located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the Pacific coast and within 50 miles of 500,000 people, has been a costly fight against na- ture, involving questions and repairs connected to its design and structural strength. SEISMIC ACTIVITY Expert calls for nuke plant closure in state MICHAELA.MARIANT—THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Aboveground casks designed to store radioactive waste from a nuclear reactor are seen at Pacific Gas and Electric's Diablo Canyon Power Plant in Avila Beach in 2008. By Ellen Knickmeyer The Associated Press NAPA A powerful earth- quake that struck the heart of California's wine country caught many people sound asleep, sending dressers, mirrors and pictures crash- ing down around them and toppling wine bottles in vineyards around the re- gion. Scores were injured as the temblor knocked out power to thousands, caused gas and water lines to rup- ture, sparked fires and buckled roads. The magnitude-6.0 quake struck at 3:20 a.m. PDT Sunday near the city of Napa, an oasis of Vic- torian-era buildings nes- tled in the vineyard-stud- ded hills of Northern Cal- ifornia. Fires had flared in a mobile home park where four homes were destroyed and two others were dam- aged, officials said. By midday Sunday, the fires were out and power was being restored, said Mark Ghilarducci, direc- tor of the California Gov- ernor's Office of Emergency Services. "While it was bad, it wasn't as bad as it could be, and it was very manageable from a regional perspec- tive," Ghilarducci said. For many, the quake struck at the worst time possible, rousing them in the middle of the night and sending them fumbling in darkness to take cover and find loved ones. A number of the injuries were caused by people stepping on bro- ken glass, falling down or being hit by furniture. The quake's timing was also bad for Napa Valley's famed vineyards, where winemakers were just get- ting ready to harvest the 2014 crop. The quake broke thousands of bottles of wine and toppled barrels. Omar Rodriguez, 23, of Napa, was treated for a gash on his forehead in one of the triage tents out- side a hospital that handled the victims. "We woke up to the earthquake and I thought I was dreaming because I fell off my bed, you know, it was all dark, and I just got back up. She noticed it was all bleeding," he said, referring to his girlfriend. Officials were assess- ing the damage in hopes of getting a cost estimate they could submit for possi- ble federal assistance. The initial assessment found that dozens of homes and buildings in the region were unsafe to occupy, in- cluding a historic Napa County courthouse, where a 10-foot-wide hole opened a view of the offices inside. The quake struck about 6 miles south of Napa and lasted 10 to 20 seconds de- pending on proximity to the epicenter, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was the largest to shake the San Francisco Bay Area since the magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta quake struck in 1989, collapsing part of the Bay Bridge roadway and killing more than 60 people, most when an Oak- land freeway fell. Sunday's temblor was felt widely throughout the region, from more than 200 miles south of Napa and as far east as the Ne- vada border. Napa city officials re- ported Monday that 208 people were treated at the city's Queen of the Valley Hospital, although hospital officials could not say how many of them were there for injuries suffered in the quake and how many for more routine injuries and illnesses. A dozen people were ad- mitted for broken bones and other medical prob- lems directly related to the earthquake. About 70,000 custom- ers lost power after the quake hit, but Pacific Gas and Electric spokeswoman Nicole Liebelt said early Monday that the number was down to about 150. The utility said it expects to continue searching for possible gas leaks over the coming days. The quake also ruptured water mains. Dozens of homes and buildings in the region were deemed unsafe to occupy. BAY AREA Quake in state's wine country injures dozens BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A carport is seen collapsed onto vehicles on Sunday in Napa. ERIC RISBERG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A worker removes an earthquake-damaged wine barrel from a barrel storage facility on Monday in Napa. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Mexican President Enrique Pena Ni- eto is visiting California at the invitation of Gov. Jerry Brown. His two-day tour starts in Los Angeles on Monday and comes less than a month af- ter Brown visited Mexico. The two will address hundreds of Mexican and Mexican-American lead- ers at the Millennium Bilt- more Hotel in Los Angeles, the governor's office said last week. On Tuesday, Brown will host a luncheon in the presi- dent's honor in Sacramento. Pena Nieto will then ad- dress the Legislature at the state Capitol. There was no immedi- ate word on what Pena Ni- eto plans to say, but Mex- ico and the U.S. share con- cerns about a host of issues, including immigration and pollution. Mexico also is California's largest export market. During the governor's trip to Mexico last month, he signed nonbinding agreements on trade, edu- cation and environmental cooperation. One calls for a pilot pro- gram to educate Mexican temporary farm workers who travel to California about their rights and for the creation of a database of people in Mexico who recruit U.S.-bound, low- skilled workers. California also agreed to help Mexico find ways to build renewable energy plants in Baja California and to find ways to shorten long waits at the Tijuana- San Diego international border crossing. WORLD Mexico's president starts California visit in LA The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO The co- owner of a Northern Cali- fornia slaughterhouse ac- cused of processing cows with cancer while U.S. live- stock inspectors took lunch breaks has pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge. Robert Singleton, who co-owns the Petaluma- based Rancho Feeding Corp., entered his plea Fri- day in a San Francisco courtroom to aiding and abetting in the distribution of adulterated, misbranded and uninspected meat, the San Francisco Chronicle re- ported. Singleton, 77, is free on $50,000 bail. He has signed an agreement requiring him to work with prosecu- tors who have filed charges against the company's other owner, Jesse Amaral Jr., and two employees, Eugene Corda and Felix Cabrera. Those three have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors alleged that the owners schemed with employees to slaughter about 79 cows with skin cancer of the eye rather than stopping plant op- erations while inspectors took lunch breaks. Then, the government alleges, plant workers swapped the heads of diseased cattle with heads of healthy cows to hide them from inspec- tors. Operations were halted in February after a series of recalls, including one for 8.7 million pounds of beef. The meat was sold at Walmart and other national chains and used in products, in- cluding Hot Pockets. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Guilty plea on criminal charge in meat-recall case THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, CONNER JAY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Cows wait to be butchered at Rancho Veal slaughterhouse in Petaluma on Jan. 13. Make sure your business is part of the official promotional publication and Program for Red Bluff's annual "party of the year." Red Bluff Business Operators: COMPANY'S COMING! N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY Call your Daily News Advertising RepresentativeTODAY! 530-527-2151 Sponsored by the Downtown Red Bluff Business Association and the Tehama County CattleWomen. • 13,000 pre-event household Distribution via newspaper & mail. • Published online 9/14-21 at www.redbluffdailynews.com • Detailed "pull out" Downtown Beef and Brew serving locations Map included inside. (Premium ad spaces available!) • …and much more! 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