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Old 03-27-2011, 04:53 AM   #47 (permalink)
roflwaffle
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Going back to the impacts of a quake, it appears that the PGA at the plant was within the design of the nuclear power plant (supposedly ~3.5m/s^2), and the most Japan experienced was a PGA of ~4+m/s^2. That said, much smaller 6+ magnitude quakes have exhibited much greater PGAs of ~15-20+ m/s^2, so it's probably a good idea to beef up existing plants that are close to faults to take at least 10+m/s^2 PGAs, with designs capable of taking 15+m/s^2 PGAs probably being the safest option. The Northridge quake, while only being a magnitude 6.7, exhibited a PGA of 15+m/s^2 and was located in a previously unknown fault, so there is certainly risk out there. Odds are nothing will happen, but given how much it could cost if it does I don't think upgrades to existing plants are out of the question.
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