Operators at the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pa., shut down the Unit 2 reactor Thursday (8/17) morning to make repairs inside the primary containment.

Routine monitoring detected a decrease in pressure across one of two seals on a large water pump. The minor deviation from normal plant parameters was well within operating limits but plant operators made a conservative decision to shut the plant down, according to Herbert D. Woodeshick, special assistant to the president for the Susquehanna plant.

"The pump is fully capable of operating safely with one seal, but the pressure decrease indicates a minor water leak inside the primary containment area," he said. "The shut-down was a conservative decision so we could go into containment, find the problem and make necessary repairs to retain that extra margin of safety."

Unit 2 has run for 237 consecutive days since its last outage. Unit 1 at the plant continues to operate at full power.

The Susquehanna plant, located about five miles north of Berwick, Pa., is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna, LLC, and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc.