When the fault system in the Cascadia region finally cuts loose with its full potential, is there a possibility that regions to the east of the Cascade Mountains could be horribly shaken? Is there a chance that things like the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and its Vitrification Plant could take a major hit?
An article (linked here: http://www.hcn.org/issues/43.17/washingtons-hanford-reservation-and-nuclear-plant-may-lie-on-faults) notes that as far back as at least 2011, Brian Sherrod of the USGS was investigating features in the Yakima Fold and Thrust Belt. He found evidence which indicates that the seismic hazards which lie west of the Cascades are very likely connected to seismic features to the east of the Cascades via "an interconnected system" of faults which exist beneath and pass under the Cascade Mountains.
This interconnected fault system, to the east of the Cascades, includes features like Umtanum Ridge and Rattlesnake Mountain, the latter being situated on the southwestern side of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. It appears that this fault system which passes under the Cascades is related to the Olympic Wallowa Lineament (OWL). The OWL it that physiographic feature which spans from the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula, in northwestern Washington, to the Wallowa Mountains in eastern Oregon.
This fault system which passes beneath the Cascades tends to indicate that during the next full-potential Cascadia mega-quake event, Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the Vitrification Plant could take a severe hit. The earthquake which Hanford experiences could be far in excess of current seismic estimates for that facility. Could this translate to a nuclear catastrophe during the next Cascadia mega-quake? Could this mean a spread of radiation across the region via air currents and the Columbia River?
Links to Further Reading:
Current Expectations for a Cascadia Mega-Quake
https://cascadian.neocities.org/cascadiaquake.htm
Lessons from Japan: Is Hanford Ready to Withstand a Big Earthquake? (2011)
http://www.seattlemag.com/article/lessons-japan-hanford-ready-withstand-big-earthquake
Washington's Columbia Generating Station Is a Seismic Timebomb (2014)
http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/washingtons_columbia_generating_station_is_a_seismic_timebomb/
Evaluation of Energy Northwest Response...to...NRC Request (2013)
http://www.psr.org/chapters/oregon/assets/pdfs/cgs-seismic-study/tolan-eq-report-2-10-31-13.pdf
Hanford nuke plant's earthquake risk underestimated, group says (2013)
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/hanford-nuke-plantrsquos-earthquake-risk-underestimated-group-says/
New fault lines discovered in western Washington (2012)
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20120111-new-fault-lines-discovered-in-western-washington
Research shakes up seismic knowledge near Northwest nuclear plant (2014)
https://www.radcast.org/category/earthquakes-and-cgs/
State geologists want better quake preparedness here (2011)
http://tdn.com/mobile/article_2a4bacfc-4f23-11e0-aec2-001cc4c002e0.html
Earthquake fault much larger, more dangerous than thought (2009)
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article24539437.html
Hanford Nuclear Waste Site and The Columbia Generating Station in Richland, WA (2014)
https://www.radcast.org/hanfordcgs/
Part 1: Seismic Risks to CGS - What the NRC Doesn't Want You to Know (2014)
https://www.radcast.org/seismic-risks-to-cgs-what-the-nrc-doesnt-want-you-to-know/
Part 2: Seismic Risks to CGS - What the NRC Doesn't Want You to Know (2014)
https://www.radcast.org/part-2seismic-risks-to-cgs-what-the-nrc-doesnt-want-you-to-know/
Part 3: Seismic Risks to CGS - What the NRC Doesn't Want You to Know (2014)
https://www.radcast.org/part3/
Part 4: Seismic Risks to CGS - What the NRC Doesn't Want You to Know (2014)
https://www.radcast.org/part-4seismic-risks-to-cgs-what-the-nrc-doesnt-want-you-to-know/
Connecting the Yakima fold and thrust belt to active faults in the Puget Lowland, Washington (Abstract - 2010)
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70036529
Connecting the Yakima fold and thrust belt to active faults in the Puget Lowland, Washington (Full text - 2010)
http://earthweb.ess.washington.edu/bsherrod/brian/blakely_2011_JGR.pdf
Connecting the Yakima fold and thrust belt to active faults in the Puget Lowland, Washington (Abstract and Full text - 2011)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2010JB008091/full
Connecting Crustal Faults and Tectonics from Puget Sound across the Cascade Range to the Yakima Fold and Thrust Belt, Washington: Evidence from New High-Resolution Aeromagnetic Data (Abstract - 2009)
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AGUSMGP23A..02B
Connecting the Yakima Fold and Thrust Belt to Active Faults in the Puget Sound, Washington: Evidence from High-Resolution Aeromagnetic and Regional Gravity Anomalies (2009)
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2009AM/finalprogram/abstract_162600.htm
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