Let's remember, it was a 9.0 Earthquake AND a tsunami that caused this. How often has that happened? Or will it happen?

     The heliocopters are trying to refill the spent rod tanks, where the circulation requirements are much lower. They are trying to connect the cooling systems to an outside source with hoses to supplant the cooling system. That'll work if the cooling systems have not been broken or cracked. The US navy has used Nuclear Powered vessels for 50+ years with ONE fatal accident. That was 30 years ago and caused by Sheer Stupidity on the part of the victim.

    For perspective there have been 10,000 + people that died from the earthquake and Tsunami, ZERO from the reactors so far.

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

It'll be around much longer than 200k years. Uranium 238 has a half-life of nearly 4.5 billion years. Uranium 235 has a half-life of about 7 hundred million years. Uranium 234 has a half-life of abour 245,000 years. The power plants use 238 or 235 depending on the reactor, most are the 235 variety.

As far as the reactors being dirty, Uranium 235 releases about 3,000,000 time more energy than an equivalent mass of coal, so while standing next to a piece of coal won't kill you as the uranium will, the volume of waste produced at a nuclear plant is much less, and that waste can be confined to a specific area whereas coal smoke goes where it will via the atmosphere. Because so much less is needed, the impact of mining on the environment is lessened as well. Nuclear power also takes away the joy of breathing coal smoke.

I don't think nuclear power is the ultimate answer but it's a step toward the right, clean technology. It is progress. I personally would rather see a Nuclear plant on the horizon, than black smoke out of a coal stack.



Edit: Apparently they use Plutonium at the affected power plant. Plutonium 239 has a half life of just over 24,000 years, so depending on the mass it could be virtually gone in a couple hundred thousand years.



I just saw Franks post, and I have to say that I agree 100%. This isn't a typical Nuclear incident. I seem to remember from studying Chernobyl that it was more a result of misinformation and bad decisions that led to the meltdown than some mechanical failure - that my friends is human error and there is no fix for that. It doesn't mean we should abandon a technology because something might happen.


Lawrenceville, GA

Good point, Frank. "So far". The radiation effects the thyroid gland (hence why they are passing out iodine tablets). Takes a long time to show up. I was treated with radiation when I was a youngster and guess what? 45 years later, guess what? I have Thyroid cancer...



I don't think you can compare the immediate deaths from the earthquake and tsunami with eventual deaths from being exposed to excessive amounts of radioactive materials.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

I'm not a nuclear physicists but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once. (Somebody had to do it)

Dan      Kingman Az.      86409

Frank and Charlie have some good points about the relative safety of nuclear power. There is a significant amount of heat generated after the reactor ceases criticality that gradually drops off as time goes by. This heat amounts to about 7% of full power at initial shutdown and gradually drops down so that in about 3 or 4 weeks (or maybe longer for a bigger reactor than a sub's) the core does not need active cooling anymore. But the fuel is still generating decay heat that needs to be removed.



In Japan as I understand it all 6 reactors shut down as expected from the earthquake itself. The problem is that the diesel generators that were intended to run the cooling pumps after shutdown were swamped in the Tsunami. To me after the big Tsunami after Xmas 2004 that seems like something that could have been foreseen. These generators also powered the cooling for the spent fuel pools that are part of every plant now, so they are also overheating. The reactors are in the containment building but the cores were not adequately cooled and when they get hot they start to dissociate the water to hydrogen and oxygen. These gases are vented into the containment building and they caused the hydrogen explosions that have ripped off the tops of the buildings. The spent fuel pools are in the containment buildings so the spent fuel is now exposed to the atmosphere. I think that this is where they are trying to dump the sea water with helicopters.



There is a lot to learn from these accidents and it is also worth remembering that these plants were designed in the '60's and early 70's when most engineers were still using slide rules. We can do it a lot better now. I to am a supporter of nuclear power and as Charlie says the emissions from a coal burning plant are far higher than a Nuke. In fact if a nuke emitted all the radioactive stuff that comes in coal and goes up the stack or into the fly ash from a coal burning plant it would be shut down immediately. Not to mention the slag heaps in the mountains, the ash ponds that pollute ground water and deaths from mining. But I suspect that we will see another big push against nukes again.

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.

Tshernobyl... Well I'm still here . I remember the day we had to go to the shelter ( as a practice ) when I was at the school. Disasters come and go, but recently there has been too many of them. Australian floods and fires, earthquakes here and there, Island vulcanos etc. What really causes those? Digging the oil from the earth or what? The truth is, that if you take something from somewhere, it makes an empty spot there. And when the time flies, that empty spot has a tendency to fill itself with something. If you don't belive, try this: Fill up a class of water, stick your finger in it and then take it off. What happens? After a while there is no hole anymore in the place of your finger. So, what I belive, people get what they deserve from taking too much from some place? Not pointing my finger to anyone or any place, but..

Just wandering...

 Seppo from Järvenpää, Finland
www.hollowheads.net (just click the hole in the head to proceed)

You may still be here Hollow, but Chyrnoble definately affected you!

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

Thank you Billy, that's what I was trying to convey. I hope you are in a save spot in China away from that mess in Japan.



Like I said earlier, the radiation effects the Thyroid Gland (among other body parts) Gee, guess I don't have to worry, I no longer have a Thyroid due to Radiation "Treatment". Those poor people are being exposed to thousands of times more that I was...

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

And Charlie you are Correct. Designers of these plants, be it a Nucular power plant, a Oil refinary or what ever don't design for a triple threat, say Human error, loss of power and mechanical failure. In their tiny minds it can't happen, but what it really comes down to is COST... Been there in the design process.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

Very funny.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia