The containment door of the Unit 2 reactor, opened for maintenance is 7 feet thick of reinforced concrete. Photo by Michael Mercier/ The Huntsville TimesThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission later this year will provide nuclear plants with a seismic analysis software tool and require all of the nation’s 104 reactors to assess their earthquake risks.
NRC announced the plan Thursday, two days after a 5.8 quake rattled the East Coast and shut down the North Anna nuclear facility near the quake’s epicenter in Mineral, Va.
The plant declared an “alert” – the second-lowest of NRC’s four emergency classifications – before regaining its electricity several hours later.
Another dozen nuclear power plants along the East Coast and upper Midwest declared an “unusual event,” the NRC’s lowest emergency classification. All 12 resumed normal operations by the end of Tuesday.
NRC spokesman Joey Ledford and Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman Ray Golden said it is too early to know the effects of the new tool and the reviews, either for TVA or the nation’s 60 commercial nuclear power plants.