Diablo Canyon earthquake vulnerability

Diablo Canyon (Nuclear) Power Plant, located in San Luis Obispo County California, was originally designed to withstand a 6.75 magnitude earthquake from four faults, including the nearby San Andreas Fault and Hosgri Fault,[1] but was later upgraded to withstand a 7.5 magnitude quake.[2] It has redundant seismic monitoring and a safety system designed to shut it down promptly in the event of significant ground motion.

In 2008 the Shoreline Fault, which passes less than a mile from the plant, was discovered.[3] The fault has the potential of triggering a 6.5-magnitude earthquake.[4] Because the Richter magnitude scale is logarithmic, Diablo Canyon is designed to withstand an earthquake of shaking amplitude ten times larger than that which the Shoreline fault is capable of triggering, based on an analysis by plant owner Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E).

  1. ^ "Energy: A Nuclear Horror". Time. February 9, 1976. Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
  2. ^ David Sneed (August 9, 2011). "Diablo Canyon workshop to focus on earthquakes". The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Archived from the original on March 17, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  3. ^ "Revised seismotectonic model for California Central Coast: More complex than previously thought". ScienceDaily.
  4. ^ Charlton, April (10 March 2010). "Supervisors request delay for Diablo relicensing". Santa Maria Times.