Nuke plant increases NYC earthquake risk
New York (UPI) Aug 23, 2008 Seismologists said nuclear power plants located 24 miles north of New York increase the risk of serious damage from earthquakes. Columbia University researchers said the Indian Point nuclear power plants sit astride the previously unidentified intersection of two active seismic zones, making the risk of earthquake substantially greater than formerly believed. The findings, published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, are based on "sophisticated analysis of past quakes, plus 34 years of new data on tremors, most of them perceptible only by modern seismic instruments," the university said Thursday in a release. Seismometers at Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory monitor most of the northeastern United States. The authors looked at 383 known earthquakes from 1677 to 2007 in a 15,000-square-mile area. Magnitude 5 quakes occurred in 1737, 1783 and 1884. Researchers said such quakes should be routinely expected, on average, about every 100 years. "Today, with so many more buildings and people, a magnitude 5 centered below the city would be extremely attention-getting," co-author John Armbruster said. "We'd see billions (of dollars) in damage, with some brick buildings falling. People would probably be killed." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Nuclear suppliers fail to reach consensus on US-India deal Vienna (AFP) Aug 22, 2008 Nuclear supplier nations ended a two-day meeting here Friday without reaching agreement on lifting a 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade with India. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |