nuclear-news

Hanford nuclear plant on an earthquake fault line?

Washington’s Hanford Reservation and nuclear plant may lie on faults, High Country News, 18 oct 11,  “…….Until now, the extensive seismic hazards of western Washington were treated separately from those east of the Cascades, which were thought to be smaller and farther from population centers. But the fault Sherrod is seeking appears to be part of an interconnected system underlying the Cascades, from Puget Sound to Umtanum Ridge and Rattlesnake Mountain, which loom above Hanford NuclearReservation and the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear plant, the Columbia Generating Station. Should it span the mountains, it could mean emergency planners have significantly underestimated eastern Washington’s earthquake risks. Longer fault systems — and this would be a long one — generally produce larger quakes, though they don’t always rupture along their entire length……. http://www.hcn.org/issues/43.17/washingtons-hanford-reservation-and-nuclear-plant-may-lie-on-faults

October 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA