[Nabeqiv]

Virginia Earthquake Brings Attention To North Anna Nuclear Power Plant
by Colby Hall | 2:27 pm, August 23rd, 2011



A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered just northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much
of Washington, D.C., and was felt throughout the Eastern seaboard and iron belt
region of the United States. In the wake of the much more powerful Japanese
earthquake of earlier this year, and its effect on the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant,
this is certain to bring attention to the Virginian nuclear plant that may have been
effected as well.

While there are no reports yet on the integrity of the local plant, reports of the
epicenter being based in Mineral, Virgina suggest that the North Anna nuclear
plant is located just a short 10 miles away.

The North Anna plant was built in the late 1970s and the two reactors went
online in 1978 and 1980. According to not always reliable Wikipedia entry,
the plant is located in a relatively rural area:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones
around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of
10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of,
airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about
50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid
contaminated by radioactivity.[2]

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of North Anna was 21,396,
an increase of 15.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census
data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was
1,912,015, an increase of 22.6 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles
include Richmond (40 miles to city center).[3]

Expect to hear a lot more about North Anna and the U.S. nuclear power
industry as a hot-button topic in the coming days and weeks.