Whew! Life is exhausting, is it not? The unfolding horrors in Japan keep the mind whirring... not just the compassion for those suffering directly from the 'natural' disasters of quakes and tsunamis, but also the likelihood of a similar event right here on 13th in Corvallis. Example: We have three 5,000,000-gallon tanks of water at the north end of 13th (the closest about 150 meters from our house). Two of the tanks have been brought up to current seismic standards (that is, according to the Corvallis Public Works guy in charge of such stuff). The third will be altered 'soon'.
Does it matter? Yes, I think it does. Those tanks need to be able to withstand the quake that is long overdue here in the northwest of the US. Do what I did... go off to the library and take a good look at the globe. Look at where the recent nasty quakes have been: First, Chile... then across the water in New Zealand... then north to Japan. If we want to close the 'circle', we just need to march back across the water... to CA and OR. Some geo guys are saying the shifts... all hugely destructive, all within the past year... increase the odds that the Big One will hit the US west coast sooner rather than later. That is, the circle needs to be closed, judging by geological stresses recently demonstrated.
And boy are we ill-prepared. We're entitled to a culture of ignoring such predictable events. If it happens, so what? We're rich... we can buy our way out. But maybe not. Like global climate change, the Big One will not pick and choose. Those cozy little coastal communities... the Newports and Seasides... will disappear, no matter how rich we are.
I've been studying the local nuke. Did you know we have a working nuclear reactor in Corvallis? Right down there, across the street from the EPA offices, off 35th. It's a Triga Mark II nuclear reactor, water-cooled, built in the early 60s to early-60s standards. Part of my day today will be to access public records of building permits, safety requirements, and possible seismic upgrades since the original construction of the reactor. Reading the 2009/10 annual report published by the reactor staff, I found evidence of two 'manual scrams'... what seem to be hurried efforts to shut the thing off because alarms warned of troubles within the reactor itself. I'll learn and report more.
In the meantime, the Japanese tragedy grows. The news this a.m. is that there was criticism of the Mark I design... the containment structure was too small and light, the fact that used fuel was stored in the reactor unit in pools above the reactor itself... and this, friends, was no news to us. We knew more than we wanted to know about nuclear reactor designs... we were among the thousands who fled TMI in terror on March 28, 1979. We were active in protesting the continued use of the two Mark I reactors at Peach Bottom (I have a newspaper clip which includes a picture of our girls with their protest signs at the reactor). So now the Japanese (and maybe many more) will suffer the consequences of the fact that the NRC ignored warnings that we loud and specific more than 40 years ago.
Poor Charlie Sheen. He's been upstaged by a weather event. Timing is everything when you're having your 'fifteen minutes'. Dang!
I'll be back with more facts on the Corvallis nuke. K
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