[2harddrive]

WHY can’t they just pull the fuel rods from the core? Shut DOWN the reaction?

[GonzoGOP]

WHY can’t they just pull the fuel rods from the core? Shut DOWN the reaction?

Nukes don't have an on/off switch like that. First you don't' pull the fuel rods, unless you want to get real radioactive. You drop control rods that absorb the free neutrons and stop the reaction. But the reaction doesn't just stop. You stop say 95/97 percent right away but the rest is going to take the better part of a day to shut down. And even 5% of the heat of a reactor will melt it if it isn't cooled. And you have a lot of residual heat to get out while that happens.

They scrammed the reactor at the time of the earthquake. Now they are just trying to keep the coolant running while the remaining head dissipates.