Georgia: No Problems at Vogtle Nuclear Plant After 4.1 Quake

Plant Vogtle, the two-unit nuclear power plant located in Waynesboro, Georgia.

The United States is quite vulnerable to earthquake, especially inland. Sixteen of its most powerful quakes struck in the Mid West, 15 in Missouri and one in South Carolina. The 1811-12 quake caused the Mississippi River to flow backward and set church bells ringing in the steeples of Boston. In 1886, an earthquake in Charlestown, South Carolina, shook 30 states.  92% of the reactors in the United States are built inland where quakes are expected to be more common and stronger than the nuclear reactors have been built to handle.  In 2011, a 5.8 magnitude quake struck near the North Ana, Virginia, nuclear plant, lasting 3.1 seconds. Earthquakes represent the single greatest danger to nuclear reactors and spent fuel storage facilities. (Ref. “Nuclear Roulette” by Gar Smith, 2012.)

No problems at Georgia Power nuclear plant after 4.1. quake
by Alexis Stevens, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 15 February 2014

An earthquake with an epicenter northeast of Augusta shook metro Atlanta homes Friday night.

The quake measured a magnitude of 4.1 and happened at 10:23 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake’s epicenter was Edgefield, S.C., about 25 miles from Augusta. Plant Vogtle, which is on the outskirts of Augusta in Waynesboro, suffered no problems from the quake, a Georgia Power spokesman said Saturday afternoon. Officials did a walk around the nuclear plant, which provides power to about 500,000 homes and is one of the utility’s two nuclear facilities.
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