Are California's nuclear power plants prone to quake damage?
The Golden State's two operating nuclear plants — San Onofre, along the coast between San Diego and Los Angeles; and Diablo Canyon, in San Luis Obispo County — have different designs than the Fukushima reactors, but many of the same vulnerabilities. San Onofre is rated to withstand a 7.0 earthquake, and Diablo Canyon, which is near several major fault lines, a 7.5 temblor. Of course, it wasn't the 9.0 stunner that destroyed Fukushima, says Christopher Helman at Forbes. It was "the lack of adequate tsunami-proof back up power generation," and both California plants are right on the ocean.
And are they prepared for tsunamis?
Yes. San Onofre and Diablo Canyon both say they have gravity-based backup cooling systems as well as emergency diesel generators. Also, San Onofre is protected by a 30-foot-tall reinforced "tsunami wall," and Diablo Canyon sits atop an 85-foot cliff. "If a tsunami reached that high, California would have much bigger problems than a busted reactor," Helman says.
What are the chances of a massive tsunami?
Most experts say California isn't at great risk of a Japan-sized tsunami because, unlike Japan, there is no subduction zone (where one tectonic plate slides under another) off the state's coast. A 2005 report by the California Seismic Safety Commission says the biggest locally generated tsunami in recent years was in 1927, and caused 7-foot waves. The northern tip of the state, plus Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, don't have that security, however, thanks to the Cascadia fault.
So it's really Oregon and Washington that should be worried?
They already are nervous. Oregon is more worried about a tsunami, because more of its population lives on the coast. Seattle, on the other hand, sits directly on top of a big fault, and an earthquake over 7.0 would be devastating, and could send a wall of water down the Puget Sound to Tacoma and other cities. On the plus side, neither state has active nuclear power plants.
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