Iran earthquakes won't damage UAE nuclear reactors, says Enec

Site in Barakah was unaffected by earthquake in Iran and was built to withstand far greater tremors than what reached the UAE.

The government body in charge of the UAE four reactors said tremors from regional earthquakes will not damage UAE nuclear reactors. Shah Nazar/Reuters

ABU DHABI // Recent seismic activity posed no threat to Abu Dhabi's nuclear programme, according to the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec).
The government body in charge of the four reactors being built in the Western Region said Tuesday's tremors from the earthquake in eastern Iran were barely noticeable at the site in Barakah.
Enec said construction work had not been interrupted. "The vibration in Barakah was similar to the passing of a truck, where the vibration of the vehicle is felt across the structure of the building," a corporation spokesman said.
The quake, on Iran's border region with Pakistan, measured 7.8 in magnitude and caused many office buildings in the Emirates to be evacuated, but the Barakah site was chosen with seismic activity in mind and the reactors are built to withstand much greater shocks, Enec said.
The earthquake happened in one of two zones on the Arabian tectonic plate that were analysed as a seismic hazard by Enec.
But neither is regarded as a threat as they are both outside a 320-kilometre safety radius.
The spokesman said the tectonic plate under the site has been inactive for almost 100 million years.
 
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