Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Could Fukushima Daiichi Be Ground Zero for the Next Big One?


Could Fukushima Daiichi Be Ground Zero for the Next Big One?

The heft from last year’s powerful March 11 earthquake shocked a sleeping fault line close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant back to life, according to a new scientific study. And based on their findings, the scientists who conducted the study warn the battered nuclear power plant should brace itself for another big one.

Reuters
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in November 2011.
The new study from the European Geosciences Union, published on Tuesday, cautions that the seismic risk at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has increased because the magnitude 9 earthquake jolted the plates underneath the area into a more precarious position. But that’s not all: The real problem may be the fluids forming as a result of the Pacific plate digging under the adjacent Okhotsk plate. Japan’s northern region lies directly above the Okhotsk plate.

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