The recent earthquake on Wednesday, June 23, 2010, reminds us that the earthquake fault line still exists very close to Pickering nuclear station. A 5.0 earthquake that had its epicenter not far from Ottawa was felt from as far away as Sudbury, Ontario, to New York City, and west as far as Windsor in Canada. The epicenter was in a small community northeast of Ottawa where it was severe enough to have people hurriedly evacuating buildings, and dodging falling debris and broken glass. A highway bridge nearby collapsed. No major injuries were reported. In other places, only shaking occurred. Unused to even the idea of an earthquake, most people did not know what to do.

On Thursday, the day following the earthquake in an article in the Globe and Mail, Arsalan Mohajer, professor of geology at the University of Toronto was quoted as saying that faults run across Ontario and Quebec and are potentially disastrous. A fault that runs along the St. Lawrence River valley is close to Montreal, Cornwall and Quebec City and could potentially cause large earthquakes in the future. According to Prof. Mohajer, a similar fault line exists in the Niagara-Pickering area inconveniently close to Toronto.

A few years ago, the danger of an earthquake that would damage the Pickering nuclear power plant was considered unlikely by another geologist.

See our Pickering B Too Close for Comfort.

COMMENT FROM ROSALIE BERTELL

I understand that there are faults in the Gulf of Mexico also. It is now laced with more than 3500 off-shore oil rigs. Oil seeping into a fault can cause an earthquake.

Moreover, the current oil well crisis is spewing gas, and I understand there is a gas bubble forming around the oil well opening. If this explodes, it will be like an underwater volcano and could cause a tsunami.
It is so amazing how careless our society is with life!