A spike in the level of radioactive iodine, linked to the release of I-131 from Japan's Fukushima Daichii plant, was discovered in milk samples in California's San Luis Obispo County in late March. Then on April 2nd, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a press release, stating that radioactive material in California's rainwater is the result of the nuclear disaster in Japan.

While health officials are rushing to assure the public that these increases present no danger to human health, Californians are expressing deep concern about the possibility of a Fukushima-like scenario in their state, where two nuclear reactors are poised near earthquake faults on the coast. During a protest in the San Francisco Peninsula city of Menlo Park, held shortly after the magnitude of Japan's crisis became evident, demonstrators called for the immediate halt of the "rubber-stamping of licenses for nuclear reactors by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission". More demonstrations are scheduled for the month of April.

In San Francisco there is an urgent call to action for April 14th. Organizers are encouraging California residents to speak out at the Board of the California Public Utility Commission's public meeting to call for the closure of Diablo Canyon, a nuclear reactor that is a mere 200 miles from the city.

Mothers for Peace, a group that protested the establishment of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in the 1970's and has continued to question its safety, is organizing a mass demonstration on April 16th at Avila Beach, California, near that nuclear plant.

April 26th will see a global day of action against nuclear power on the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl. Demonstrators will gather in cities throughout the U.S. and in many countries. Near San Francisco, a protest will be held in Menlo Park.

EPA: Increase in Radioactive Levels in California from Japan Disaster | Radioactive Iodine Found in Milk in San Luis Obispo County | Japanese Authorities Admit: Japan Disaster Equal to Chernobyl

Mothers for Peace | Greenpeace | Nuclear Information Resource Service

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