February 1, 2010 in Region

Swarm of small quakes in past year under Hanford

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TRI-CITIES, Wash. — In the past year about 2,000 small quakes have rattled an area under the Hanford nuclear reservation.

A seismologist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Alan Rohay, says the quakes were too small to cause damage. The largest last February was a magnitude 2.9.

The quakes were centered about eight miles north or Richland, just west of the Columbia River.

The Tri-City Herald reports the quakes occurred in an area with no buildings and no environmental cleanup work. Similar swarms were recorded in the area in 1970, 1975 and 1988.

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One comment on this story so far. Add yours!

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  spokanecommunistparty on February 01 at 3:44 p.m.

  People in Hanford must be really fat