Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant

[QKey]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12720219

 

~~ I hate nuclear power!

[Nueemann]

Nuclear Power: Safe.

 

Nuclear Power Plant with stupid inspectors and operators: Please see here.

 

Nuclear Power in a part of the world so prone to earthquakes and tsunamis they have 40 ft high seawalls and strict building codes: Unsafe.

 

Now I am not an expert on Nuclear Power by any means, but building the plant seems like a stupid idea to begin with.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Nuclear Power: Safe.

 

Nuclear Power Plant with stupid inspectors and operators: Please see here.

 

Nuclear Power in a part of the world so prone to earthquakes and tsunamis they have 40 ft high seawalls and strict building codes: Unsafe.

 

Now I am not an expert on Nuclear Power by any means, but building the plant seems like a stupid idea to begin with.

Agreed. If they knew the area was prone to disasters, they were putting everyone in danger to begin with.

[Bjossi]

It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.

Build the power plants in the safe spots and have good inspection and security = minimal risk.

 

Some day I do expect fusion reactors will replace the nuclear reactors though.

[jempm55]

No matter how safe and stable a nuclear plant is, it's still no match for a natural disaster. It'll be Chernobyl all over again, and we cannot blame anyone this time.

[Alyxx Thorne]

No matter how safe and stable a nuclear plant is, it's still no match for a natural disaster. It'll be Chernobyl all over again, and we cannot blame anyone this time.

Except for the people who had it built in the first place.

[jempm55]

No matter how safe and stable a nuclear plant is, it's still no match for a natural disaster. It'll be Chernobyl all over again, and we cannot blame anyone this time.

Except for the people who had it built in the first place.

 

Well is there any alternative source of power for Japan? I mean they really need nuclear reactors to support their massive power needs, other energy sources might be insufficient.

[Alyxx Thorne]

No matter how safe and stable a nuclear plant is, it's still no match for a natural disaster. It'll be Chernobyl all over again, and we cannot blame anyone this time.

Except for the people who had it built in the first place.

 

Well is there any alternative source of power for Japan? I mean they really need nuclear reactors to support their massive power needs, other energy sources might be insufficient.

I suppose that is the sad reality, yes.

[Eedo Baba]

Personal outlandish opinion:

We should build nuclear power plants in geosynchronous orbital space instead of on earth, transmitting resultant power down to earth via laser uplink (real upcoming tech) , and disposing of nuclear materials by jettisoning them from the plants into the sun. The risk of fallout disaster would of course be limited to downed orbiters, and they could be built with disposal fail safes to prevent this.

[Nueemann]

No matter how safe and stable a nuclear plant is, it's still no match for a natural disaster. It'll be Chernobyl all over again, and we cannot blame anyone this time.

 

The worst case would be a Chernobyl-scale catastrophe, with explosions destroying the reactors and sending a deadly plume of radioactivity into the atmosphere. The Chernobyl accident 25 years ago in Ukraine spewed radiation over much of Europe after a nuclear reactor exploded and caught fire.

 

Such a scenario would be highly unlikely in Japan, said Yaroslov Shtrombakh, a Russian nuclear expert.

 

"It's not a fast reaction like at Chernobyl," he said. "I think that everything will be contained within the grounds, and there will be no big catastrophe."

 

Quoted from here.

 

The conditions at Chernobyl deteriorated very rapidly and the inexperienced operators lost control of the plant because of their poor judgement, this lead to a steam explosion that blew the roof off of the reactor building, directly exposing the core and all of it's radiation into the atmosphere.

 

In this case, that simply didn't happen. Any risks now come from handling the situation stupidly, which Japan isn't likely to do.

[jempm55]

A very nice point, Nueemann. Japan will sure to prevent any major damage to the environment.

[Bjossi]

Nothing is for certain, however, Japan may or may not experience "unforeseen consequences".

[jempm55]

Nothing is for certain, however, Japan may or may not experience "unforeseen consequences".

 

For some reason I felt chills. Almost as if the Gman whispered that in my ear.

[J.C.]

Personal outlandish opinion:

We should build nuclear power plants in geosynchronous orbital space instead of on earth, transmitting resultant power down to earth via laser uplink (real upcoming tech) , and disposing of nuclear materials by jettisoning them from the plants into the sun. The risk of fallout disaster would of course be limited to downed orbiters, and they could be built with disposal fail safes to prevent this.

 

Mhmm. I don't think I like that idea, no matter how foolproof the fail safes are, I can see the perfect accident happening and a radioactive core entering the atmostphere and disintegrating all over thousands of miles of inhabited terrain (= glowing shitstorm).

 

Now, huge orbital solar power plants, I like that idea (getting that energy to earth, whether it be via microwaves, lasers, etc. is left as an exercise to the reader).

 

Since we don't yet have access to Cold or Hot Fusion, Zero point energy or other Holy Grail-like power sources, Fission Reactors are still our best chance, but they have to be done and operated properly... unless you want to keep burning stuff.

[Eedo Baba]

Personal outlandish opinion:

We should build nuclear power plants in geosynchronous orbital space instead of on earth, transmitting resultant power down to earth via laser uplink (real upcoming tech) , and disposing of nuclear materials by jettisoning them from the plants into the sun. The risk of fallout disaster would of course be limited to downed orbiters, and they could be built with disposal fail safes to prevent this.

 

Mhmm. I don't think I like that idea, no matter how foolproof the fail safes are, I can see the perfect accident happening and a radioactive core entering the atmostphere and disintegrating all over thousands of miles of inhabited terrain (= glowing shitstorm).

 

Now, huge orbital solar power plants, I like that idea (getting that energy to earth, whether it be via microwaves, lasers, etc. is left as an exercise to the reader).

 

Since we don't yet have access to Cold or Hot Fusion, Zero point energy or other Holy Grail-like power sources, Fission Reactors are still our best chance, but they have to be done and operated properly... unless you want to keep burning stuff.

 

I get the feeling such fail safes would be more foolproof than that. The plants could be built with auxilary powered barometers to detect altitude. If altitude began to decrease, the plant would go into a safe disposal sequence.

 

And no matter what environmentalists tell you, until we advance solar power technology, it's going to be not much more than a tech demo. It's extremely expensive and creates very limited amounts of power.

 

And yeah, fusion is on the way, and that, when it's done, should solve energy problems for a good while.

[J.C.]

And yeah, fusion is on the way, and that, when it's done, should solve energy problems for a good while.

 

Have you noticed how it is always "thirty years away"?

[Alyxx Thorne]

Nothing is for certain, however, Japan may or may not experience "unforeseen consequences".

 

For some reason I felt chills. Almost as if the Gman whispered that in my ear.

You too?

[Fujin]

Holy fucking horse shit! Nuclear power is so safe!

[Descriptor]

It wasn't a meltdown, it was just a pressure release.

Radiation levels have actually gone down around the plant.

 

It's not that nuclear power is entirely dangerous, it's that these are extenuating circumstances.

[Nueemann]

I have been watching news most of the day, and they state (Not sure if we can believe it.) that Radiation levels are going down, and things appear to be mostly under control.