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Maine earthquake prompts ‘unusual event’ at Seabrook nuclear plant
An
“unusual event” indeed. The 4.0 magnitude earthquake that rumbled
across the Seacoast and beyond Tuesday evening triggered normal
safety protocols at the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant.
The
Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared an “unusual event” —
NRC-speak for the lowest of its four levels of emergency
classifications — at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday. The declaration was
prompted by on-site ground motion resulting from an earthquake
centered near Hollis, Maine — about 50 miles from the plant.
“There
was absolutely no impact to the plant from the earthquake,” said Al
Griffith, spokesman for NextEra Energy, the plant’s owner. Griffith
said a series of mandated safety checks were conducted at the plant,
concluding at 1:49 a.m., some six and a half hours after the tremor.
Citing
the “robustness” of the plant’s design, Griffith assured that
it is capable of withstanding a far, far greater impact than
Tuesday’s quake.
There
are seismic monitors on site and Griffith said officials will be
conducting “a very thorough examination and analysis of all of our
data.”
An
NRC resident inspector assigned to Seabrook responded to the site
last night to confirm that there were no immediate safety issues at
the plant, which is currently shut down for a scheduled refueling and
maintenance outage.
“The
reactor was fully shut down at the time the earthquake occurred,”
said Neil Sheehan, regional public officer for the NRC.
“Following
procedures used when there is seismic activity affecting the plant,
NextEra personnel conducted initial walkdowns, i.e., visual
inspections, and confirmed that all key safety systems were
functioning properly and that there was no significant structural
damage,” Sheehan said in a statement. “The company will
subsequently gather more seismic data and perform more detailed
inspections.”
Asked
about the need to be vigilant in preparing for and reacting to any
seismic activity, particularly in the wake of the March 2011 disaster
following an earthquake and tsunami at the Fukushima Nuclear Power
Plant in Japan, Sheehan said, “What happened at Fukushima served as
a vivid reminder” of why the highest safety protocols are put in
place and enforced.
Last
April, NextEra Energy conducted a tsunami drill Tuesday at the
Seabrook Station plant in order to identify strengths and weaknesses
of the plant in case of such a disaster.
Northern Iceland shaken by moderate earthquakes and tremors
21 October, 2012
A 4.8 and 5.7 earthquake struck north of Iceland near Siglufjörður, which is home to a thriving community built along the inner coastline.
The quakes struck along the northern end of the divergent rift or Mid-Atlantic Ridge that runs through the center of Iceland.
The quakes ignited a swarm of hundreds of tremors. A series of 3.0+ magnitude tremors have also occurred in the vicinity of the Krafla volcano, which last erupted in 1985.
The Krafla central volcano, located NE of Myvatn Lake, is a topographically indistinct 10-km-wide caldera that is cut by a N-S-trending fissure system. Eruption of a rhyolitic welded tuff about 100,000 years ago was associated with formation of the caldera. Krafla has been the source of many rifting and eruptive events during the Holocene, including two in historical time, during 1724-29 and 1975-84.
–The Extinction Protocol
Strong
6.2-magnitude earthquake rattles Vanuatu
21
October, 2012
A
strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the South Pacific island of
Vanuatu Sunday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate
reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
The
quake struck at 10:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday) 500 kilometres (310
miles) northwest of the capital Port Vila at a depth of 35
kilometres, the United States Geological Survey said.
The
USGS had earlier put the magnitude at 6.6.
Vanuatu
lies on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a zone of
frequent seismic activity caused by friction between shifting
tectonic plates.
It
has been rocked by several large quakes in recent years, averaging
about three magnitude 7.0 or above incidents every year without any
major damage.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/15173117/strong-6-2-magnitude-earthquake-rattles-vanuatu/
5.3-Magnitude
Quake, Aftershocks Rattle Calif.
21
October, 2012
A
moderate earthquake and minor aftershocks jolted the central
California coast over the weekend but didn't cause any damage,
authorities said.
Nearly
6,700 people reported feeling the magnitude 5.3-quake when it struck
late Saturday outside of King City, the U.S. Geological Survey said
on its website.
USGS
geophysicist Don Blakeman said the temblor struck in a "seismically
active area" near the San Andreas Fault, about 90 miles
southeast of San Jose. It was followed by at least four aftershocks
that were greater than magnitude 2.5....
5.3
magnitude earthquake hit Alexandria
19
October, 2012
A
5.3 magnitude earthquake hit Alexandria early on Friday morning.
Hatem
Oada, head of the National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical
Research, said in a statement to the state-run MENA news agency that
regional seismic networks indicate the tremor hit at 5:35 am, Cairo
time. No damages or injuries have been reported.
The
epicenter of the quake was in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the
Delta. This region is not typically seismically active, Oada said.
U.S. officials turn attention to the possibility of volcanic eruptions in southwest
19
October, 2012
Experts
in volcano hazards and public safety have started a conversation
about volcanoes in the southwestern United States, and how best to
prepare for future activity. Prior to this meeting, emergency
response planning for volcanic unrest in the region had received
little attention by federal or state agencies.
Though
volcanic eruptions are comparatively rare in the American
Southwest, the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada,
and Utah host geologically-recent volcanic eruption deposits and
are vulnerable to future volcanic activity. Compared with other
parts of the western U.S., comparatively little research has been
focused on this area, and eruption probabilities are poorly
understood.
“A
volcanic eruption in the American southwest is an example of a
low-probability, but high-impact event for which we should be
prepared to respond,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “No
one wants to be exchanging business cards during an emergency, and
thus a small investment in advance planning could pay off in
personal relationships and coordination between scientists and
first responders.”
"The
goal of the conference is to increase awareness of volcanism and
vulnerabilities in the American Southwest, and to begin
coordination among volcano scientists, land managers, and
emergency responders regarding future volcanic activity,"
said Dr. Jacob Lowenstern, one of the organizers of the
conference, and the U.S. Geological Survey Scientist-In-Charge of
the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. "This is the first time
these federal, state, and local agencies have met to discuss their
roles, responsibilities, and resources, should an eruption occur."
The
"Volcanism in the American Southwest" conference on Oct.
18-19 in Flagstaff, Ariz. was organized by the USGS, Northern
Arizona University, University at Buffalo, and New Mexico Bureau
of Geology and Mineral Resources, the meeting included
interdisciplinary talks, posters, and panel discussions, providing
an opportunity for volcanologists, land managers, and emergency
responders to meet, converse, and begin to plan protocols for any
future volcanic activity.
More information
about the meeting, including presentation abstracts, is online. |
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