Transactions, SMiRT 21, 6-11 November, 2011, New Delhi, India Div-IV: Paper ID# 701 1 DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A REAL-TIME EARTHQUAKE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SITES USING THE USGS SHAKECAST SYSTEM A.M.Kammerer 1 , A.R Godoy 2 , S.Stovall 1 , J.P.Ake 1 , A.Altinoyollar 3 , N.Bekiri 3 , D. J. Wald 4 , and K. Lin 4 1 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington D.C., USA 2 Formerly of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria 3 International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria 4 United States Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, USA E-mail of corresponding author: annie.kammerer@nrc.gov ABSTRACT When an earthquake occurs near a nuclear power plant (NPP), specific information is quickly needed to support accurate real-time situational awareness, assessment of the potential impact to the installation, informed decision making, and effective communication with key stakeholders. To address this important need, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), are developing and implementing a custom ShakeCast system for post-earthquake real-time notification of ground shaking at NPP sites. The custom system, called Nuclear ShakeCast, is being developed to meet the unique informational needs of the global nuclear community. The project is currently focused on developing and implementing the Nuclear ShakeCast system within the IAEA and NRC. However, the software will be freely available to the international nuclear community once developed. Nuclear ShakeCast has the potential to incorporate observations, estimates of hazard levels, and plant fragility and license information into real-time automated comparisons of estimated ground motions against plant- specific shut-down criteria and basic NPP damage estimations. The earthquake shaking data used by the ShakeCast system is in the form of a ShakeMap, a map that displays earthquake shaking parameters spatially. If an earthquake occurs and is of sufficient size to trigger automatic creation of a new ShakeMap, the ShakeCast software retrieves the map and automatically begins a series of calculations based on protocols and databases specified a priori by the user. The system then sends an automated notification containing the information needed by key personnel in the response organization. The report includes basic information about the earthquake, the estimated levels of ground shaking calculated for those nuclear installation sites located in the affected region, and NPP design information important in the NPPs licensing basis. All this information–-supported by existing operating international seismological networks—is essential for a quick effective communication and decision making. Depending on the responding organization, communication may be with the effected utilities and NPPs, the regulatory body, the media, the public, and governmental organizations. Rapid and automated information is particularly important because affected organizations are busy dealing with the consequences and disruption caused by the earthquake. INTRODUCTION In accordance with both the fundamental safety principles established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the regulation requirements of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), appropriate and effective planning and arrangements must be made for emergency preparedness and response for nuclear or radiation incidents. If the initiator of such an incident is a severe extreme natural event, such as an earthquake, those arrangements are critical elements for the reduction of risk at nuclear power plants (NPPs). When an earthquake occurs near an NPP site, information about the earthquake and the estimate of possible levels of ground shaking and the potential for damage at the installation is quickly needed to support accurate real-time situational awareness, informed decision making, and effective communication with key stakeholders. The occurrence of extreme natural disasters in recent years has reinforced the need of having available a notification system that promptly and effectively informs the relevant organization of the potential impact of such events at nuclear installations. The urgent need for a new tool to support automated notification was recognized by both the IAEA and the NRC. To address this important need, the IAEA and the NRC, in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), are developing and implementing a custom ShakeCast system for post-earthquake real-time notification of ground shaking at NPP sites. The custom system, called Nuclear ShakeCast, is being developed to