The threat of an earthquake was taken into account when Slovakia's two nuclear power plants were constructed, with both the facility at Jaslovské Bohunice (Trnava Region) and the plant at Mochovce (Nitra Region) designed to withstand quakes of considerable intensity as expressed by the MSK-64 seismic intensity scale, the head of Slovakia's Nuclear Supervision Office (ÚJD), Marta Žiaková, said following a government session on Wednesday, March 16, as reported by the TASR newswire.
She specified that the plant in Jaslovské Bohunice was constructed to withstand a quake of grade 8 (defined as 'damaging') on the MSK-64 seismic intensity scale, while the other facility was designed to resist a 7.4-grade quake on the same scale (grade 7 is defined as 'very strong'). In addition, both plants were built to deal with horizontal motion, preventing the facilities from sustaining damage, she added. "The security of nuclear facilities in Slovakia is being monitored on a constant basis in terms of seismic activity. The results are re-evaluated regularly and, considering the latest advances in research and development, safety measures are being adopted on a continuous basis," stated the document discussed by the cabinet.
Ed. note – The MSK-64 scale, which was widely used in the former communist bloc at the time when the plants were constructed, is different from the Richter scale also used to measure earthquake intensity.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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