Diablo Canyon Drug Firings Reported

More than a dozen employees of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant have been fired or disciplined for participating in alleged drug activities, a plant official announced Monday.

Only one incident among the recent activities took place on the premises, plant manager Bob Thornberry said at a news conference Monday at the headquarters of Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which operates the plant.

Thornberry refused to give details of the alleged drug activities, but said they involved the sale of drugs.

Nine employees have been fired, three suspended and one resigned, Thornberry said, adding that most were security guards at the plant and none were responsible for operating the plant’s two nuclear reactors. No criminal charges have been filed.

The recent disciplinary actions were part of an ongoing investigation into drug activity among plant personnel. Last month, two security guards and two former employees of the plant were arrested for allegedly selling cocaine. Those arrests were the result of an 11-month probe by an undercover state task force.