Quake sensors removed around Virginia nuke plant due to budget cuts

[ensho]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/23/virginia-nuclear-plant-had-quake-sensors-removed-due-to-budget-cuts/


A nuclear power plant that was shut down after an earthquake struck central Virginia Tuesday had seismographs removed in 1990s due to budget cuts.

U.S. nuclear officials said that the North Anna Power Station, which has two nuclear reactors, had lost offsite power and was using diesel generators to maintain cooling operations after an 5.9 earthquake hit the region.

The North Anna plant, which was near the epicenter of Tuesday's quake, is reportedly located on a fault line.

-snip-

Update: Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) Senior Scholar Bob Alvarez told the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) that the North Anna plant was built to withstand a 5.9-6.1 quake.
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this snip has interesting facts too

[PoliticAverse]

1. Previous DU discussion on this article here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1799848&mesg_id=1799848

(the sensors were installed/operated by Virginia Tech)