Spotlight
Virginia Quake – NRC Actions
On August 23, central Virginia experienced a 5.8 earthquake on the Richter Scale with the epicenter in Mineral, Virginia, a few miles from the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant operated by Dominion Virginia Power. The plant safely shut down as designed and was powered by diesel generators for a few hours. The NRC monitored the situation, observed plant inspections and performed assessments of quake data. On August 29, the NRC dispatched an Augmented Inspection Team to the plant to further review the effects of the earthquake, the operators’ response and the plant staff’s activities to check equipment. On September 8, the NRC met with Dominion Power to discuss preliminary findings and future inspection plans. After the team is through, there will be a public meeting October 3 to discuss findings and a written report will follow. The NRC will ensure the plant is capable of continuing to operate safely before the agency will authorize restart of the reactors.
On this page:
Fact Sheets and Background Information
- Virginia Earthquake Summary
- Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Response to Virginia Earthquake
- Seismic Issues for Nuclear Power Plants
- Earthquakes at Uranium Recovery Facilities
- Regulatory Guide 1.167, “Restart of a Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down by a Seismic Event”
- Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Report NP-6695, “Guidelines for Nuclear Plant Response to an Earthquake” (NOTE: The NRC provides this link for information purposes and does not necessarily endorse the information or conclusions contained therein.)
News Releases
| Date | Subject |
|---|---|
| 11/11/2011 | NRC Approves Restart of North Anna Reactors, Will Ensure Dominion Meets Commitments |
| 11/01/2011 | Public Meeting between NRC and Dominion |
| 09/07/2011 | NRC to Meet with Dominion Sept. 8 to Discuss Ongoing Post-Earthquake Actions at North Anna Nuclear Power Station |
| 08/29/2011 | NRC Sends Augmented Inspection Team to North Anna Nuclear Power Station |
| 08/24/2011 | NRC Continues to Assess North Anna Nuclear Power Plant Following Virginia Earthquake |
| 08/23/2011 | NRC Monitoring Alert at North Anna Following Virginia Earthquake |
