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Japan Nuclear Fallout: How Bad Could It Get? Nuclear expert explains worst-case scenarios, and more
The Daily Beast ^ | 03/12/2011 | Josh Dzieza

Posted on 03/13/2011 8:58:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

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To: cripplecreek

Question: where does the hot seawater go once it’s been circulated through the reactor?


21 posted on 03/13/2011 9:38:31 AM PDT by Raebie
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To: Riodacat

Well, we had a “Chernobyl-like meltdown” in Chernobyl and how many people in the US died as a result?


22 posted on 03/13/2011 9:38:47 AM PDT by FReepaholic
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To: FReepaholic

Along with that, what effect did dropping two atomic bombs on Japan during WWII have on the United States? None!


23 posted on 03/13/2011 9:47:51 AM PDT by RC2
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To: SeekAndFind

Ron calmly covers the facts of the situation while the eco fecal freaks go absolutely apesh!t. Did CNN have him on?/s

CNN actually had some ‘expert’ d!ckhead on yesterday, saying the control rods were made of cesium. They were so anxious to get every anti-nuke pus chancre on, that I’m sure they never bothered to check credentials.

These nuclear power plants could have been hit by an asteriod. The horror. They were a stones throw away from the epicenter of one the biggest quakes in recorded history with a subsequent massive Tsunami and survived.

The fact that everything is undercontrol is absolutely amazing.

We need to start building thousands of nuclear power plants in the U.S. The states need to give the middle finger to the federal government and start building.


24 posted on 03/13/2011 9:50:07 AM PDT by Electric Graffiti (Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their Moonbats)
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To: Raebie

We’re going to bottle it so it can we can force feed it to fear mongering morons.


25 posted on 03/13/2011 9:50:48 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: cripplecreek

Hahaha! But seriously, is it discharged as steam? Contained somewhere? Is any of it being released into the environment?


26 posted on 03/13/2011 9:52:27 AM PDT by Raebie
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To: Raebie

I imagine its being recirculated after cooling. Water doesn’t hold radiation very well.


27 posted on 03/13/2011 9:54:25 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: Electric Graffiti
We need to start building thousands of nuclear power plants in the U.S. The states need to give the middle finger to the federal government and start building.

Exactly. We've regulated ourselves into danger. We should be building new state of the art nuclear plants that are much smaller, safer and more efficient instead of relying on 40 and 50 year old technology.

Imagine if the government had stepped in after Henry Ford built 1000 cars and told him to stop making them and just keep using the ones he already built.
28 posted on 03/13/2011 9:59:20 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: cripplecreek

No doubt the technology of today is superior to that of the reactors in trouble now and obviously this event will be a tool for further learning and possible design changes in the future. In no way should this stop us from investing in nuclear energy- though it’s highly unlikely to happen in this administration.

My concern is the lack of solid and reliable info coming from the authorities in Japan- the conflicting reports and disinformation are on a par with Katrina when, if you remember, we had cannabalism taking place in the Superdome.

It’s a tough call for governments- even fair ones- to balance the public’s need and right to know with keeping unecessary panic at bay. I’ve gone over some pretty alarming posts at FR this morning and see there’s more than a few who expect the apocolypse at any moment. It’s not rational- and is a natural result of being misinformed or underinformed.

A lot of us- including me are woefully ignorant about nuclear energy and it’s not a far jump from Chernobyl to Japan if you’re uneducated. I’m learning every day though and considering the big picture, nuclear energy is a safe and effective source.


29 posted on 03/13/2011 10:02:16 AM PDT by SE Mom (Proud mom of an Iraq war combat vet)
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To: FReepaholic
Well, we had a “Chernobyl-like meltdown” in Chernobyl and how many people in the US died as a result?

Chernobyl is in western Russia and is not in the path of the polar jet stream which flows westward from Japan to North America.
If you look at a map of Europe after the chernobyl accident (below), you`ll see that radiation was spread over vast parts of Europe.
It`ll take years to assess what impact that had on cancer rates and other radiation related diseases.

30 posted on 03/13/2011 10:02:28 AM PDT by Riodacat (And when all is said and done, there'll be a hell of a lot more said than done......)
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To: SeekAndFind; All

A must-read from an MIT scientist, “Why I am not worried about Japan’s nuclear reactors.”:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2688107/posts


31 posted on 03/13/2011 10:03:37 AM PDT by Qbert ("I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air" - Margaret Thatcher)
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To: SeekAndFind

WEll lets hope so.


32 posted on 03/13/2011 10:08:21 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: Raebie
"But isn’t the concrete container for reactor #1 essentially gone? How can they put seawater *around* the steel vessel? "

No No NO, The media is hyping something that is a none issue. The reactor building the concrete one plays no role in containment in fact it is designed to blow outward in the case of a pressure spike. Exactly what has happened. the Steel containment vessel its around the reactor pressure vessel and the suppression pool. Its nested like Russian dolls This is not a PWR reactor where the Dome is the last line of containment. In a BWR the containment and last line of defense is steel and its form fitting to the rector pressure vessel. They have flooded the RPV with seawater and probably have flooded the inside of the containment vessel too. There is no possibility of a core release as long as the RPV and/or the containment is flooded with water. They will need to release steam for the next few days as the seawater boils but the dose will be in millirads so its a none issue. This is bad from a operators point of view as using seawater is going to lead to the shutdown of these reactors indefinitely no one would recertify a RPV that has been in contact with hot radioactive seawater. these reactors will have to be scraped and new steel members cast and welded in place. It should be noted that they were designed for an 8.2 EQ and that a 8.9 is 7 times large in amplitude well above the design specs it is a testament to Japanese engineering that they held together this well. They also were never designed to take the size of the tsunami that came on shore knocking out all the back up generators. A total plant backout is the worst of the worst case scenarios if all else fails and the cores melt the containment vessel can be flooded from the outside with seawater and the 10 feet of concrete and steel will contain the corium till it solidifies. That would be the end game but still of little health concern to the general public.

33 posted on 03/13/2011 10:10:20 AM PDT by JD_UTDallas ("SRT stops those who stop at nothing")
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To: Raebie

Here is a rational description of the current status:

http://www.nei.org/newsandevents/information-on-the-japanese-earthquake-and-reactors-in-that-region


34 posted on 03/13/2011 10:49:29 AM PDT by budhabaier
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To: Qbert; SeekAndFind; All

Thanks for that link in THIS thread, Qbert.


35 posted on 03/13/2011 10:50:39 AM PDT by PGalt
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To: JD_UTDallas

Thank you for some clarity.


36 posted on 03/13/2011 10:53:20 AM PDT by Roses0508
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To: bgill

I was up and saw it...it looked like it came from a bad movie script. So much b.s. was being spewed it was ridiculous.


37 posted on 03/13/2011 10:54:13 AM PDT by My Favorite Headache (In a world where I feel so small, I can't stop thinking big.)
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To: My Favorite Headache

Thanks. I thought I was the only one who saw it. It was so much bs.


38 posted on 03/13/2011 10:59:27 AM PDT by bgill (Kenyan Parliament - how could a man born in Kenya who is not even a native American become the POTUS)
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To: Riodacat

Not only will there be no radiation here...

THE OTHER REACTORS AT THE PLANT WILL BE QUICKLY CLEANED UP AND PUT BACK ON LINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have done an exquisite job in this horrible disaster thanks to good design, training and hard work.


39 posted on 03/13/2011 11:02:17 AM PDT by mrsmith
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To: pieceofthepuzzle; Raebie
Picture shows much more damage than the roof missing.


40 posted on 03/13/2011 11:18:37 AM PDT by bgill (Kenyan Parliament - how could a man born in Kenya who is not even a native American become the POTUS)
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