Diablo Canyon nuclear plant should survive magnitude-7.2 quake
Last week, California Watch , the Center for Investigative Reporting , Capitol Public Radio and Need to Know aired a report on seismic safety at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant operated by PG&E.
We didn’t have a lot of time to go into it in the television show. So, I’d like to delve into it a little more now.
A lot of the show focused on a debate simmering between the U.S. Geological Survey and PG&E about the size and connectivity of fault lines near the plant.
Of particular issue is the relationship between the Shoreline Fault, a newly discovered fault right offshore from the plant, and the Hosgri Fault. The Hosgri is about 3 miles offshore.
Both the USGS and PG&E think the Shoreline is capable of producing a magnitude 6.5 earthquake.
However, a scientist at the USGS thinks the Shoreline Fault may connect with the more distant, but larger, Hosgri Fault. If this were the case, the power plant could be sitting just a few hundred yards from a fault with the potential to produce a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.
PG&E thinks that scenario is unlikely.
In fact, we found a PowerPoint presentation given by one of PG&E’s consultants, Norman Abrahamson, indicating there was zero probability of the two faults connecting.
His slide presentation [PDF] was given at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission workshop in September 2010.
Yet, despite the utility’s claim that such a scenario could not happen, Abrahamson included – in that same PowerPoint presentation – a graph showing the plant’s ability to withstand such a combined rupture.
If you look at the graph now, you will notice several lines.
The red one, labeled the HE spectrum, represents the utility’s 1977 estimate for likely ground motions at the nuclear power plant should a magnitude 7.5 earthquake erupt along the Hosgri Fault.
The plant was built and retrofitted for this scenario.
As long as no other lines exceed or go above that red line, the plant is likely to be safe. If they do, the plant is in danger.
Now take a look at the gray line. That one represents PG&E’s estimate for ground shaking at the plant should a magnitude 7.2 combined earthquake rupture right offshore.
If you look at the right-hand side of the graph, you’ll see that the gray line, in fact, goes above that red line.
California Earth Quake Usgs - News
Both the USGS and PG&E think the Shoreline is capable of producing a magnitude 6.5 earthquake. However, a scientist at the USGS thinks the Shoreline Fault may connect with the more distant, but larger, Hosgri Fault. If this were the case,
By AP, NEW YORK — A magnitude-6.2 earthquake rattled the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean northeast of Australia on Thursday morning, the US Geological Survey reported. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no tsunami warning
A 3.9-magnitude earthquake struck eastern San Diego County early Friday, according to a preliminary report from the US Geological Survey. The temblor struck at 2:08 am at a depth of 3.7 miles and was centered 21 miles east of Pine Valley, according to
It said the earthquake was 1 km deep. We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the
Nobody was killed, but a concrete highway was cracked and a railroad bridge was thrown out of line, according to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center. PG&E would not respond directly to questions about the structural integrity of the plant,
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