PROVENCE-ALPES-COTE-D’AZUR CENTRE DE CADARACHE (CEA-CADARACHE) VII. THE EARTHQUAKE THREAT The fault of the middle Durance was the seat of “destructive earthquakes (sometimes reaching an intensity of VIII on the MSK scale) particularly in 1959, 1708, 1812, and 1913” [IPSN 94]. Of the CEA centers, “it is at the Cadarache center that the earthquake threat is the greatest (quakes on the order of 8 to 9 can reasonably be expected)” [Robert 70-71]. As was mentioned above in the section on ATPu, the likelihood of earthquakes in the Cadarache area “increased significantly since the end of December 1993” [IPSN 94; Wise ATPu 00]. For buildings in which cracking could be dangerous, special measures have been taken. However, the initial buildings were not able to benefit from the first rules of earthquake- protective construction worthy of the name, which date from 1969. For ATPU, see above. The Phébus reactor has been overhauled to meet standards [Libé 13.v.93]. |