Earthquake safety program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Within three minutes on the morning of January 24, 1980, an earthquake and three aftershocks, with Richter magnitudes of 5.8, 5.1, 4.0, and 4.2, respectively, struck the Livermore Valley. Two days later, a Richter magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred, which had its epicenter about 4 miles northwest of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Although no one at the Lab was seriously injured, these earthquakes caused considerable damage and disruption. Masonry and concrete structures cracked and broke trailers shifted and fell off their pedestals, office ceilings and overhead lighting fell, and bookcases overturned. Employee suddenly found themselves immersed in a site-wide program of repairing earthquake-damaged facilities, and protecting employees and the surrounding community from future earthquakes. Over the past five years, LLNL has spent approximately $10 million on its earthquake restoration effort for repairs and upgrades. The discussion there centers upon the earthquake damage that occurred, clean-up and restoration efforts, the seismic review of LLNL facilities, site-specific seismic design criteria, computer-floor upgrades, ceiling-system upgrades, unique building seismic upgrades, geologic and seismologic studies, and seismic instrumentation.