nuclear-news

Maps of 104 USA nuclear plants and earthquake history

see map http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/24/east-coast-earthquake-nuclear-plants What the east coast earthquake means for US nuclear plants Tuesday’s earthquake on the US east coast shut down several nuclear plants. Seismic activity in the US is unlikely to cause a meltdown, but it poses serious engineering challenges

Michael D. Lemonick for Climate Central, Network, guardian.co.uk,   24 August 2011 “……..it’s hardly news that nukes can cause other problems, especially when natural disasters strike (the name Fukushima might ring a bell). And indeed, as soon as the ground began to shake in Virginia, two reactors at the North Anna Power Station, just a few miles from the plant, wereautomatically taken off line to prevent a possible disaster.In the aftermath of Fukushima, Climate Central’s David Kroodsma put together an interactive map of the earthquake risk to U.S. nuclear plants. Today’s quake is the perfect time to repost it.

• This clickable map shows the 104 active nuclear reactors in the Lower-48 states, overlaid with both recent earthquakes and the 15 strongest earthquakes in the region’s history. Note that the most powerful earthquake on record, estimated to have measured magnitude 9.0, shook the Pacific Northwest back in 1700. You can click on each power plant to obtain more information about it, including the type of reactor design.

  The second (static) map shows the earthquake risk as measured by “Peak Ground Acceleration” or PGA. During an earthquake, the ground shakes back and forth, and the damage is roughly proportional to the ground’s maximum acceleration. The map shows the two percent likelihood that the PGA will exceed the shown values in the next 50 years.

  Explore the maps, and read on for additional details below.

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/24/east-coast-earthquake-nuclear-plants

August 25, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Resources -audiovicual