For many, 2011 will be remembered as the year of Fukushima.On March 11, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck Japan. The powerful quake coupled with a large tsunami that followed overwhelmed the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, crippling four of its six reactors, causing radiation releases and leading to the evacuation of 80,000 people near the plant.
The accident left many residents of San Luis Obispo County wondering whether a similar accident would be possible at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, located along California’s earthquake-prone Central Coast. It also greatly intensified calls for PG&E to suspend plans to renew the plant’s two operating licenses until a thorough seismic investigation of the earthquake faults around the plant is completed.
Continue reading at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant reacts to Japan’s Fukushima disaster
