A magnitude 2.8 earthquake hit an area near the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington State on Saturday, according to federal data.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake hit about 2.5 miles south of Richland, Wash., which is itself about 15 miles south by road from Hanford’s southern gate. It was a magnitude 2.83 quake, more than 900 times smaller than what USGS considers to be a moderate quake, according to a calculator the agency maintains on its website.
For comparison, an earthquake that hit Washington, D.C. in 2011 was a magnitude 5.8 temblor, according to USGS.
A Hanford spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday about the effects, if any, on the former plutonium production complex. Hanford’s emergency operation center website did not list any current incidents as of Sunday evening.
Hanford is the site of the largest liquid-radioactive-waste cleanup managed by the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.
