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What should we learn from the nuclear accident in Japan?
Original material from the author | 4-4-11 | Matt Richards

Posted on 04/04/2011 1:37:52 PM PDT by drmatt

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1 posted on 04/04/2011 1:38:01 PM PDT by drmatt
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To: drmatt

Remember that dog they rescued in the middle of the ocean after spending 3 weeks floating on a roof..? They brought him into shore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLMYp6RL08A

(English subtitled)


2 posted on 04/04/2011 1:41:50 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: drmatt

I took a power and energy class in collage and one part was a debate on Nuke power. The pro nuke guy said that the China Syndrome was a figment of Jane Fonda’s bank account. The lives lost in the accident are fewer than would have been lost providing the same amount of energy with coal. Underground mining used to be the most dangerous occupation in this country.


3 posted on 04/04/2011 1:43:51 PM PDT by mountainlion (America land of the free because of the Brave.)
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To: drmatt
Water Fuel Cell Open Source Project
4 posted on 04/04/2011 1:44:34 PM PDT by Talisker (When you find a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be damn sure it didn't get there on its own.)
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To: gaijin

I spent most of 2007 working at the HTTR site in Oarai. The parts of Oarai near the coastline were flooded by a 4-m tsunami following the quake. I was saddened to see a video of some of the same streets I used to walk and drive on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM6usF56Wpk

It is ironic that Oarai means “big wash.” Fortunately, all of my Japanese friends that I worked with are OK.


5 posted on 04/04/2011 1:48:26 PM PDT by drmatt
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To: drmatt

oh wow, bro! I used 2 go 2 that beach all the time...!!!

:(

Small world..! Wow that jiiChan was rockin some major HouBen...wow...


6 posted on 04/04/2011 2:09:14 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: drmatt
Only 2 major accidents in what, 40+ years (I am not counting TMI), that is an incredibly good track record on safety. The question should be, what could the nuclear power industry teach us about safety?

And quite frankly, Chernobyl shouldn't count, because that facility was purposefully built in an unsafe manner.

7 posted on 04/04/2011 2:09:37 PM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: drmatt

I’m still for it. I think giving money to Muslims for arms and weaponry is an even worse idea. Learn the lesson; survey very carefully where you will put such a plant.


8 posted on 04/04/2011 2:12:28 PM PDT by He Rides A White Horse ((unite))
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To: gaijin

I could understand almost NOTHING that guy said....this is soooo weird. Is that even Japanese...?! I’m almost sure that narrator was not Japanese...


9 posted on 04/04/2011 2:19:36 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: pnh102

Chernobyl must be counted, men are men, societies are societies. Not all are responsible, and their come periods of very irresponsible cultural behaviors even in otherwise responsible cultures.


10 posted on 04/04/2011 2:25:00 PM PDT by bvw
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To: drmatt

Chernobl was a poor design. Most contries had stopped using graphite moderated reactors back in the ‘50s as they are very unstable at low power levels.

TMI was an example of systems which worked and with modern computer systems probably never would have failed.

Japan failed due to lack of a reliable back-up power solution. Reactors require about 10MW just to run pumps and computers. The backup generators were destroyed by the wave and thus after the SCRAM, no power existed to run cooling pumps. Simply moving the generators 30ft above ground instead of 10ft below would have saved the plant.


11 posted on 04/04/2011 2:25:00 PM PDT by Zathras
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To: drmatt

How about:

Don’t built a nuclear reactor: (a) on a massive fault and (b) the tsunami area at the same time.


12 posted on 04/04/2011 2:27:28 PM PDT by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)
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To: Zathras

Chernobyl was a RBMK reactor with graphite moderator and water cooling. This combination can result in unstable operating conditions, and did with Chernobyl. The MHR has a graphite moderator but uses inert helium as the coolant. It does not require any back up power, even after a complete loss of coolant accident.


13 posted on 04/04/2011 2:46:01 PM PDT by drmatt
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To: Jewbacca

This was Tepco’s operating procedure:

“In an attempt to solidify its cover-up, TEPCO prepared two versions of in-house inspection reports—an internal one with actual data and an official one with falsified data—for regular inspections at both of the nuclear power plants during those years, according to Hitachi’s internal documents.”

Once it was known this was the kind of company operating a Nuke plant ...and there were many more coverups and issues...so many it boggles my mind...

Someone should have gotten in there and done something about the safety.


14 posted on 04/04/2011 2:55:06 PM PDT by RummyChick
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To: gaijin

Lots of non-Japanese in Oarai working in the fishing industry.


15 posted on 04/04/2011 2:56:11 PM PDT by drmatt
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To: Jewbacca

One of the problems with current generation light water reactors is the low thermal efficiency - about 33%. This means 67% of the heat generated by the reactor must be dissipated to the environment, which is why many reactors are loacted near the ocean or other large bodies of water. With its higher thermal efficiency, the MHR can be located in much drier areas. The thermal efficiency is ultimately limited by the laws of thermodynamics, but the MHR can operate much closer to this limit, with efficiencies near 50%.


16 posted on 04/04/2011 3:00:57 PM PDT by drmatt
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To: Zathras
Chernobyl was a poor design.

I may be wrong, but I seem to remember that they were testing water systems in an unsafe manner, something to that effect as well.

17 posted on 04/04/2011 3:06:16 PM PDT by He Rides A White Horse ((unite))
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To: He Rides A White Horse
Chernobyl was a poor design.

They were building a similar model in Cuba, but construction, thankfully was halted before it went operational.

18 posted on 04/04/2011 3:07:28 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator
They were building a similar model in Cuba, but construction, thankfully was halted before it went operational.

I live in the shadow of a nuke plant in Limerick. I am not afraid one bit.

It's a shame, the greenies will propagandize this to death.

We Must stop funding the mortal enemy of the world, Islam. With common sense solutions, I'll put my money on the "can do" Americans.

19 posted on 04/04/2011 3:26:02 PM PDT by He Rides A White Horse ((unite))
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To: He Rides A White Horse
I live in the shadow of a nuke plant in Limerick

Is it the same design as Chernobyl? Big difference.

20 posted on 04/04/2011 3:27:00 PM PDT by dfwgator
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