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Southland Nuke Plants Operating Normally During Tsunami Threat

SAN ONOFRE (AP) — Federal regulators say California's Diablo Canyon and San Onofre nuclear power plants are operating normally and are being monitored by inspectors during the West Coast tsunami threat.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan says the San Luis Obispo and northern San Diego County plants are taking precautions because of Friday's magnitude-8.9 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

The NRC resident inspector at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is monitoring the plant's response to an area tsunami warning and Sheehan says the plant has declared an "unusual event," the lowest of four levels of emergency classification. It is operating normally.

Sheehan says in a statement that the San Onofre nuclear power plant is also operating normally.

The NRC says nuclear plants are designed to withstand tsunamis and earthquakes.

» PHOTOS: Disaster In Japan
» More Local Quake Coverage

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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