Regulators aware for years of understated seismic risks to nuclear plants

March 30, 2011 rockman Geologic Hazards Comments Off on Regulators aware for years of understated seismic risks to nuclear plants
Nuclear Reactors in the US overlaid on USGS Probability of Strong Shaking Map

Nuclear Reactors in the US overlaid on USGS Probability of Strong Shaking Map

With the events in Japan on everyone’s mind, it’s of course to be expected that seismic safety at nuclear power plants in the U.S. becomes a hot topic. This article discusses how the Nuclear Regulatory Comission has an on-going study to assess the seismic hazard of existing and proposed nuclear power plants in the eastern 2/3 of the country, where the risk is greater than was originally thought.

Nearly six years before an earthquake ravaged Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, U.S. regulators came to a sobering realization: seismic risks to nuclear plants in the eastern two-thirds of the country were greater than had been suspected, and engineers might have to rethink reactor designs.

[Source: The Center for Public Integrity via Ontario-geofish. Image: The Center for Public Integrity]

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Geologic Hazards

Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake February 2011 News Resources

March 7, 2011 rockman Geologic Hazards Comments Off on Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake February 2011 News Resources

Christchurch Earthquake Map

A deadly magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22, killing at least 147 and with around 200 still missing.  Many buildings have been badly damaged or destroyed and residents also had to deal with large quanities of mud and water which was a result of the liquefaction.  The same region was affected by a 7.1 magnitude quake in September of 2010.  That earthquake was centered deeper and farther from the metropolitan area so there were fewer casualties and less damage.  But many buildings that had recently been repaired, or were even still under repair were devastated once again.  Some early reports were calling this earthquake an aftershock of the September earthquake, but maps I’ve seen (at right) show pretty clearly it was a different fault segment that ruptured during this earthquake.  I have a collection of links below that might be of interest. My heart goes out to the people of New Zealand affected by this disaster.

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Press Releases

New Study Shows Odds High for Big California Quakes

April 15, 2008 rockman Press Releases Comments Off on New Study Shows Odds High for Big California Quakes

Released: 4/14/2008 12:02:15 PM

California has more than a 99% chance of having a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake within the next 30 years, according scientists using a new model to determine the probability of big quakes.

The likelihood of a major quake of magnitude 7.5 or greater in the next 30 years is 46%-and such a quake is most likely to occur in the southern half of the state.

[Editor] At Left: Figure 1. The colors on this California map represent the UCERF probabilities of having a nearby earthquake rupture (within 3 or 4 miles) of magnitude 6.7 or larger in the next 30 years. As shown in the table, the chance of having such an event somewhere in California exceeds 99%. The 30-year probability of an even more powerful quake of magnitude 7.5 or larger is about 46%. [/Editor]

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