[MR] Fwd: [OT] Quake sensors removed around Virginia nuke plant due to budget cuts

[David Chessler]

------ Original Message ------
Received: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:55:48 PM EDT
From: Randall  Webmail  
Subject: [johnmacsgroup] Where have we heard this song before?

"U.S. nuclear officials said that the North Anna Power Station, which has two
nuclear reactors, had lost offsite power and was using diesel generators to
maintain cooling operations after an 5.9 earthquake hit the region." 

Quake sensors removed around Virginia nuke plant due to budget cuts 

By David Edwards 
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 -- 3:52 pm 

A nuclear power plant that was shut down after an earthquake struck central
Virginia Tuesday had seismographs removed in 1990s due to budget cuts. 

U.S. nuclear officials said that the North Anna Power Station, which has two
nuclear reactors, had lost offsite power and was using diesel generators to
maintain cooling operations after an 5.9 earthquake hit the region. 

The North Anna plant, which was near the epicenter of Tuesday's quake, is
reportedly located on a fault line. 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rates the plant as the seventh most
likely to receive core damage from a quake. But they say the chances of that
are only 1 in 22,727. 

According to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME), the
Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory (VTSO) removed all seismographs from
around the plant in the 1990s due to budget cuts. 

In February, Dominion Virginia Power confirmed its commitment to add a third
reactor to the plant. 

"While Dominion has not decided on the schedule to build the unit, the company
will continue to move forward with the federal combined operating license
process and preliminary site development work," Dominion CEO Thomas F. Farrell
II said in a statement. 

Update: Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) Senior Scholar Bob Alvarez told the
Project on Government Oversight (POGO) that the North Anna plant was built to
withstand a 5.9-6.1 quake. 

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