Explosion at a Nuclear Power Plant

by Little Miss Attila on March 12, 2011


Typical Japanese nuclear facility–sans non-reactor explosion.

Here’s WaPo.

I’m hearing mixed news on whether there is any radiation leakage, and there are still some indications that English-language press is exaggerating the dangers to some degree. Nuclear scientists–even those who speak English–have been much calmer than the press.

UPDATE: Stacy thinks that the alarmists are right, and that the Japanese authorities are “spinning.” I’m still waiting to hear from nuclear physicists on this–after all, a lot of the media are going to overhype the danger just to jazz up the news cycle, and plenty of the MSM/legacy press is profoundly anti-nuclear power.

UPDATE: AllahP is still at it; see the last four updates to this post for more about what’s going on. It sounds like the worst-case scenario at this point is that the reactor is lost, and has to be “entombed.”

One of the tragedies about this is that an earthquake of this magnitude is a geological freak accident–and yet this is bound to be used as an excuse not to build more nuclear power plants. And so, we will continue to be out-done by . . . the French. The French. Let that sink in.

{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }

ponce March 12, 2011 at 11:36 am

So, Christian forgiveness for the oil and nuclear energy industries…just not for people?

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Little Miss Attila March 12, 2011 at 11:42 am

Where are you going with this?

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ponce March 12, 2011 at 11:50 am

Suppose you’re on the jury for a 55 year old man (same age as the nuclear power industry) with a couple of minor charges and an assault charge (Chernobyl) on his record goes to court for murdering his wife.

His lawyer says he did it but he should go free because this was just a “mental freak accident.”

Would you vote to acquit him?

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Foxfier March 12, 2011 at 1:04 pm

He’s going for reaction; what does he ever do?
Really shouldn’t let him define the conversation, y’know.

I think the folks that suggest a lot of the “spin” is bad translation has merit, since most of the corrections seem to be close-but-not-right type things.

The radio is reporting that the three folks tested positive for exposure, not poisoning. (Radiation poisoning is caused by exposure of about 1 sv and is characterized by being sick, not by a test; there seems to be a trend of using the term “radiation poisoning” when they mean “has radiation contamination” in some news markets.)

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ponce March 12, 2011 at 4:30 pm

“Really shouldn’t let him define the conversation, y’know.”

Haha, I understand LMA’s hesitation to answer my question.

It’s situations like this quake that leads people to leave the Republican Party, or at least realize “conservatism” is based on nothing but pure b.s.

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Darrell March 12, 2011 at 6:13 pm

We all hestitate to respond to the insane.
What does one say to “Suppose you’re on the jury for a 55 year old man (same age as the nuclear power industry) with a couple of minor charges and an assault charge (Chernobyl) on his record goes to court for murdering his wife…”

Raylan Givens would know. But he carries a badge and a gun and could hit your “apricot” before you could blink your eye.
Why don’t you go and create a little fibbery to get Hillary out of her hole? The One put her in that job you know. How about she
took one of Obama’s balls in the head on the back nine before the press conference? The “cooling water” was what the paramedic asked if she wanted.
Don’t say I never gave you anything.

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Foxfier March 12, 2011 at 7:03 pm

We all hestitate to respond to the insane.

Oh, it’s not the sanity that’s an issue– I just refuse to be used.

Trolls like power, I’ve noticed. The only power they seem to have access to is frustrating others.

Since Ponce is too petty to touch on issues that matter in a way that might mislead anyone with sense, I don’t waste the time frustrating him.

Darrell March 12, 2011 at 1:27 pm

What would Marx do?
Oh yeah. Build a nuclear reactor without containment.

Millions will die if we rely on wind and solar for space conditioning.
Go back to eating your poo in the basement, ponce. Your doctor said it’s OK with her.
I can’t see a jury convicting her.

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Southern Man March 12, 2011 at 1:48 pm

I’ve been gleaning what I can about the Japanese reactor situation from the media (yeah, I know) and AllahP said it better than I could; they’ll probably lose the reactor and have to seal it up, as in Three Mile Island. Worst case will be a fraction of one percent of the damage done by Chernobyl. Considering what it took to break it, we ought to be hiring the Japanese to design and build OUR reactors.

I’m also glad to see folks pointing out how disaster-savvy the Japanese are. One of the worst earthquakes in history and they don’t lose a single building in Tokyo? That’s a combination of experience and intelligence; they’ve been building earthquake-resistant (as in resist like a reed, not an oak) buildings for centuries and they’re quite good at it. Had this happened almost anywhere else, a busted reactor would be buried on page twelve.

Nuke cred: doctorate in nuclear physics.

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Foxfier March 12, 2011 at 7:05 pm

Cool!

I’m not sure if nuke phys covered “what would happen in a catestrophic meltdown” with a modern reactor, but can you tell me if this image is bs?

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Southern Man March 13, 2011 at 3:01 pm

That image is, to put it politely, complete and utter horse manure. 750 rads two thousand miles away? Chernobyl EXPLODED with catastrophic loss of containment and didn’t generate radiation like that two miles out. If the Japanese reactors in danger (two at this writing) suffer complete meltdowns, the damage will be almost completely contained (like US reactors, they’re housed under nice thick lead-impregnated concrete domes) and it’s likely that the other five reactors in the complex will eventually come back on line (as Three Mile Island reactors 1, 3, and 4 continue to operate today). But just try and tell that to the fright-mongers.

Additional info – these are older reactor designs that require pumps to move the coolant; newer designs use gravity-fed coolant in emergencies.

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Foxfier March 13, 2011 at 3:32 pm

*grin* Wonder how long until it’s swept down the memory hole….

(Extra funny: the conspiracy boards were dismissing it, and the top 15 or so results when I tried to find the original were all far crazy left anti-nuke sites claiming it was gospel truth.)

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Southern Man March 21, 2011 at 9:36 am

And it’s good to know thatxkcd seems to be on the same page…

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Darrell March 12, 2011 at 7:47 pm

When the core pops up in Africa, I’ll start worrying.
That what’s on the other side of the earth from Japan, if I am imagining it correctly.
Call the “China Syndrome” folks what they really are.

Remember, don’t worry. Engineers have already worked it out.
And do you know how many people were killed over the millenia by horses or candle fires?
Neither do I, but I know it will exceed deaths caused by this by several orders of magnitude.

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boomer49 March 13, 2011 at 4:08 am

…..given that nuke plants are THE MOST DANGEROUS AND TOXIC METHOD OF BOILING WATER….to ignore the problems in Japan are flat out insane.
…..lets make a deal….IF the Japanese plants DO NOT BLOW, you can build all the nuke plants you want but ONLY IF they are done to those same specs and designs and RIGIDLY MAINTAINED…..otherwise FERGETIT!!!

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