Should the emergency evacuation zone around Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station [right, photo credit AZ Public Service] be increased from 10 miles to 50 miles, as the U.S. called for around the Fukushima plant in Japan? That provocative proposal is discussed in a feature article in today's Arizona [Phoenix] Republic.
PVNGS is not subject to tsunamis, is located in one of the lower seismic risk areas in Arizona, and is of a different design than Fukushima. But the national discussion since the Japan earthquake is how to prepare for the unexpected.
A 50-mile radius reaches to downtown Phoenix and covers millions of residents.