Correlation analysis of earthquake impacts on a nuclear power plant cluster in Fujian province, China

The construction of nuclear power plants in China has proceeded rapidly in recent years, and a nuclear power plant cluster is present in the coastal area of Fujian Province. Considering the lessons of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, we applied the Monte Carlo approach to calculate the correlation characteristics of earthquake impacts on the nuclear power plant cluster and to assess the seismic hazards at multiple sites. Based on the seismic source zone model, seismicity model and ground-motion prediction model of the Seismic Ground Motion Parameters Zonation Map of China, many earthquake scenarios were sampled, and the possibility of multiple sites experiencing ground motions that exceed critical values at the same time were obtained. The results show that the correlation between nuclear power plants Fuqing (C) and Putian (D) is the largest and that they have a slight probability of exceeding their respective design criteria at the same time. The correlation of earthquake impacts on nuclear power plants Ningde (A) and Xiapu (B) is also high, but the probability that they simultaneously exceed their respective design criteria is very low. This study can provide a reference for the site selection of nuclear power plants.