USGS' Julius Schlocker dies: axed nuclear plant

[bananas]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/01/BAHJ1DMOC5.DTL

USGS' Julius Schlocker dies: axed nuclear plant
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor
Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A memorial service will be held Thursday for Julius Schlocker, a retired geologist whose investigation of earthquake risks helped thwart construction of a nuclear power plant at Bodega Bay more than 40 years ago.

Mr. Schlocker died May 25 at Kaiser Medical Center in Redwood City. He was 92.

Mr. Schlocker and a longtime colleague at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, the late William "Doc" Bonilla, investigated the seismicity of the region around Bodega Bay in the 1960s as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was planning to build a nuclear power plant on Bodega Head, 1,000 feet west of the San Andreas fault.

The two scientists examined the 90-foot-deep hole where the nuclear reactor was to be installed and found where a fault had ruptured in the past, along with evidence of many other smaller faults.

Mr. Schlocker and Bonilla concluded that a severe earthquake was possible at Bodega Head. Their 1964 report was a major factor in causing PG&E to abandon the venture.

The company later sold the 320-foot-wide hole to the state parks department for $1. It remains an intriguing attraction for tourists today.

Mr. Schlocker is survived by his son, Albert, of San Carlos, and two daughters, Pamela Beeghly of Dearborn, Mich., and Jenny Schlocker of Santa Rosa.

The memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Salem Memorial Park, 1171 El Camino Real in Colma.

[glitch]

1. K & R for a genuine hero. nt

[diane in sf]

2. Thank you in perpetuity Mr. Schlocker for preventing a terrible mistake.