California’s Diablo Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Shut Down For Pump Repair

The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo, California has shut down one of its two nuclear reactors because of a problem with a pump that supplies water to the steam generators on the non-nuclear side.

 Diable Canyon Nuclear Power Plant

This plant has been the subject of much discussion because it is located near the San Andrea fault located in California. This is an example of the heightened level of attention given to something that never would have made headline if not for the ongoing nuclear power plant disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

An article titled “Diablo nuke plant reactor shuts down to fix pump” by the Associated Press March 29, 2011 and published in SFGate details the issue. Sensitivity to everything nuclear is at a high in the United States not seen since the Three Mile Island incident in Pennsylvania.

Over time, interest in this issue will decrease and routine maintenance issues will not be news, but some of that depends on how the situation in Japan is eventually resolved.