Virginia nuclear plant; earthquake related problems

On August 23, 2011 Virginia was hit by a 5.9 earthquake. The epicenter was just 16km (10 mile) from the nuclear plant.

According to a representative of Dominion Power, the Virginia nuclear plant was built to only withstand a 5.9-6.1 earthquake (Richter scale).

The quake caused loss of offsite power to the plant. Diesel generators were used to keep the cooling system running.

However, one of the four diesel generators stopped working after startup, David McIntyre, a spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said.

According the Nuclear Regulatory Commision the chances of serious earthquake-related issues for the Virginia plant are calculated to be no more than 1 in 22,727.

During the 1990s the earthquake detectors for this plant were removed because of budget cuts.

The North Anna plant, is reportedly located on a fault line.

Recently several incidents related to nuclear plants were reported throughout the USA.

The loss of offsite power and failure of generators caused the ongoing nuclear disaster in Fukushima (Japan).

Sources: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/23/virginia-nuclear-plant-had-quake-sensors-removed-due-to-budget-cuts/

http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2011/08/north-anna-nuclear-reactors-designed-to-withstand-59-61-magnitude-earthquake.html

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