The Electric Power Research Institute, in cooperation with the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has released a seismic study to help U.S. nuclear facilities to assess seismic hazards. Here are the details.
* The data show maps of seismic activity in the U.S. east of Denver, a region that has 62 nuclear sites with 92 commercial reactors, 22 potential new nuclear sites and five DOE nuclear facilities, EPRI stated. This region was selected as it is considered a stable continental region. The information covers this region only.
* According to EPRI, the Central and Eastern United States Seismic Source Characterization Project cost $7 million over four years, and the cost was shared among the three sponsors. Also participating in the research were technical experts from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board, the nuclear power industry and academia.
* While the NRC is using the information as part of its implementation of new safety measures for existing and new nuclear facilities following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, EPRI states the project was not undertaken as a result of the Fukushima post-earthquake nuclear meltdown. It was conducted from April 2008 to December 2011 and intended to replace the last seismic model for the eastern United States that was conducted 20 years earlier.
* The model can be used to calculate levels of earthquake-caused ground motions, EPRI stated. It is not intended to calculate the overall risk of a nuclear facility. The information gleaned from the model is meant to be combined with other factors such as the plant's design and safety features to determine specific seismic risks for each facility.
* In studying the hazard calculations of the Central and Eastern United States region from 1568 through 2008, the sponsors of the study found the biggest likelihood of future earthquakes exists in New Madrid, Mo., and Charleston, S.C. According to EPRI, other areas containing a history of repeated large magnitude earthquake sources include Charlevoix (lower St. Lawrence), Cherlaw Fault (southeastern Colorado), Meers Fault (southwestern Oklahoma), Reelfoot Rift - Marianna (Marianna, Ark.), Reelfoot Rift - Commerce Fault Zone (from Tamms, Ill., to Qulin, Mo.) and Wabash Valley (Indiana and Illinois).




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