SEABROOK — A new seismic study was released yesterday by national agencies to help United States nuclear power plants, like the one in Seabrook, better gauge the probability and magnitude of potential earthquake hazards so they can guard against them.
The 1,000-plus page study found that there is a higher likelihood of earthquake-caused ground motions at nuclear plants than previous studies had predicted. It contains models to help plant operators better predict how well their plant's design will hold up against earthquakes.
The NRC wants the nuclear industry to respond to the new information.
"We will expect U.S. nuclear power plant owners to apply the model to their facilities to develop a new site-specific seismic risk analysis," said Neil Sheehan, an NRC spokesman.
According to a press release issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "The Central and Eastern United States Seismic Source Characterization for Nuclear Facilities" is the culmination of a four-year effort by the NRC, the Electric Power Research Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy. The study replaces previous seismic source models used by the nuclear industry and the government since the late 1980s.
The study is another part of the NRC's implementation of "lessons learned" after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan last March, causing a near meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors. The new seismic model will not only be used by nuclear power plants in the central/eastern United States to re-evaluate their potential seismic risk, but it will also be used by the NRC when licensing new nuclear facilities.
The project gathered and analyzed expanded data — including historical earthquake and geological data — for the entire central and eastern United States study region dating from 1568 to 2008.
According Al Griffith, spokesman for NextEra Energy Seabrook nuclear power plant, the industry had been expecting the report.
"We will review the information very carefully and fully comply with any future NRC safety regulatory changes because safety is our No. 1 priority," Griffith said. "But this study isn't the only effort. The reevaluation process is ongoing. The effort to ensure you're safe never ends."
Griffith said the updated study and model will prove helpful to the nuclear industry, but it isn't the first time the Seabrook plant has planned for earthquakes. When designing the plant, engineers researched the historical scientific data concerning earthquakes in the area. That information was used to build a plant that could withstand the largest quake that ever hit the area, and then some, Griffith said.
Not a region with significant earthquake frequency or activity, according to the United States Geological Survey, New England's largest magnitude quake took place on Nov. 18, 1755. Felt in Newburyport and throughout New England, according to historical accounts, the quake threw down chimneys in Boston, damaged buildings and knocked down stone walls.
Since the Richter Scale of earthquake intensity hadn't been invented, the description of the damage led to the quake being designated as an intensity 8 on the Modified Mercalli Scale. Historical records indicate the earthquake was felt from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the Chesapeake Bay.
In July of 2011, following a four-month investigation into the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi, the NRC's Japan Task Force proposed a set of recommendations to increase safety at nuclear plants nationwide.
While stating that the country's nuclear power plants are safely operating, in its 96-page report, the Japan Task Force recommended making a number of charges. The five-member Japan Task Force stated enhancing the regulatory framework will increase the capability to address threatening events and enhance safety.
Among the recommendations in the Japan Task Force report was requiring plants to reevaluate and upgrade their design-based seismic and flooding protections of structures, systems and components every 10 years.
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