Why You Can Stop Worrying About the Japan Nuclear Reactors

[theogt]

The below is an excerpted letter from Dr. Josef Oehmen, a research scientist at MIT regarding the nuclear ***ushima nuclear accident. I encourage everyone to read the entire letter, as it will clear up a lot of the sensationalism going on in the media.

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I am writing this text (Mar 12) to give you some peace of mind regarding some of the troubles in Japan, that is the safety of Japan’s nuclear reactors. Up front, the situation is serious, but under control. And this text is long! But you will know more about nuclear power plants after reading it than all journalists on this planet put together.

There was and will *not* be any significant release of radioactivity.

By “significant” I mean a level of radiation of more than what you would receive on – say – a long distance flight, or drinking a glass of beer that comes from certain areas with high levels of natural background radiation.

I have been reading every news release on the incident since the earthquake. There has not been one single (!) report that was accurate and free of errors (and part of that problem is also a weakness in the Japanese crisis communication). By “not free of errors” I do not refer to tendentious anti-nuclear journalism – that is quite normal these days. By “not free of errors” I mean blatant errors regarding physics and natural law, as well as gross misinterpretation of facts, due to an obvious lack of fundamental and basic understanding of the way nuclear reactors are build and operated. I have read a 3 page report on CNN where every single paragraph contained an error.

We will have to cover some fundamentals, before we get into what is going on.

http://tinyurl.com/6xa594a

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Good article. Thanks for posting!

 

[SaltwaterServr]

Great article I would say. That's something I can actually use in my day to day life. Kidding, but that's a great explanation in simple terms of the basic physics and how this type of light water reactor works.

 

[theogt]

I think this should be a testament to the safety of nuclear power. If a plant can withstand a 9.0 earthquake, have multiple meltdowns, and yet pose no real threat to the surrounding populace, it's time the stigma is removed.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

I think this should be a testament to the safety of nuclear power. If a plant can withstand a 9.0 earthquake, have multiple meltdowns, and yet pose no real threat to the surrounding populace, it's time the stigma is removed.

You know as well as I do that the anti-nuke nut jobs are going to use the "near meltdown" and equate it with what happened in Chernobyl as linearly as they can, despite the major differences between the two types of reactors. They'll prey on ignorance, just as they always have, and it'll still take two *** damn decades to get a new LWR licensed in the US despite the millions of hours of safe operation around the world.

I still made sure to post the article to Facebook so maybe a few eyes will be opened to the true safety of nuclear power.

 

[YosemiteSam]

It seems there has been a third hydrogen explosion at one of the reactors in Japan.

The following is a english translation of the article.

Link to actual article. (In Japanese)

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TEPCO's ***ushima Daiichi nuclear power plant damaged by earthquake in the East (Ookuma Town, ***ushima Prefecture) at around 3 am on November 14 in the Unit of a major explosion occurred. According to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, confirmed that a hydrogen explosion. NISA, which contains the reactor pressure vessel, but none of them covering the steel containment vessel, damage that might have expected to be low. NISA, urged residents to evacuate the building in a short 20 km. According to TEPCO, it has at least 11 people were injured.

This explosion is believed to be akin to the explosion blew the building at the No. 1 on February 12. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio at a press conference in 40 minutes to 0:00 pm on April 14, "the health of the containment is probably being kept on the" with major changes to the data of radiation dose in the area who has been confirmed without, "the possibility that a large amount of radioactive material is scattered low," he said.

It was in operation at a nuclear power plant Unit 3 - After the earthquake, emergency core cooling system is shut down to cool the reactors. In Unit 3, continued instability in the furnace pressure and water level, seems to have been easier to experience explosive hydrogen and exposed to a temporary fuel rods. From Friday afternoon, but was trying to inject water to cool the furnace during the explosion happened.

The explosion at the No. 1 on the 12th, stayed in the damaged reactor, pressure vessel and containment vessel abnormalities have not been identified. Safety Agency has found that staying in this reactor can explode.

According to NISA, a 20 km area, residents are expected to have at least 600 people were asked to evacuate the interior.

According to TEPCO, pressure vessel, it has also confirmed that the containment is not broken. Neutrons have been around and has not been confirmed.

The reactor pressure vessel from the inside containment, the reactor building "wall" has been protected by. However, containers and pressure containment vessel is broken, serious accidents and comparable to the Chernobyl accident.

 

[dback]

This is a great article that people from both sides of the nuclear power issue should read. I was not worried one bit when I head that the nuclear reactions were still under control even though some of the redundant cooling mechanisms were having problems. Great find theogt!!!

 

[notherbob]

Thanks for the article, it really helped to clear up my concerns. Education is the key.

Thanks again.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Yeah, great article... Hope it's all accurate.

And those plants are 40 years old. You know the industry has developed even more safety measures since then.

On the optimistic side, though, what if a worst-case scenario occurs here and the world sees that no one is truly harmed by whatever radiation is released? It could even be a positive for nuclear once emotions from this case die down.

 

[theogt]

Yeah, great article... Hope it's all accurate.

And those plants are 40 years old. You know the industry has developed even more safety measures since then.

On the optimistic side, though, what if a worst-case scenario occurs here and the world sees that no one is truly harmed by whatever radiation is released? It could even be a positive for nuclear once emotions from this case die down.

We can only hope that's the rhetoric the media takes in the coming weeks. I'm not holding my breath, though.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I would rather we wait until everything is wrapped up and considered safe by all accounts with the japanese power plants. From what I read today there was another explosion and one of, if not more, of the rods is again exposed.

I would rather we see the reports after all of this has been taken care of before we just dismiss it.

 

[theogt]

I would rather we wait until everything is wrapped up and considered safe by all accounts with the japanese power plants. From what I read today there was another explosion and one of, if not more, of the rods is again exposed.

I would rather we see the reports after all of this has been taken care of before we just dismiss it.

The problem is, by then, the damage is done from a PR standpoint. It's the classic situation of a newspaper printing the sensationalist story then burying the retraction.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

The problem is, by then, the damage is done from a PR standpoint. It's the classic situation of a newspaper printing the sensationalist story then burying the retraction.

I don't care about all of that.

You can find the truth if you dig.

I have always thought nuclear was the way we should head and if we got enough of those in the US we could eventually move to more electric car options and reduce our dependency on oil.

The only thing I worried about is the initial safety in disaster type situations and the idea of safely getting rid of the waste.

If the power plants in Japan hold up over the long haul, then it will be ok, if they do not then all of the positives posted now will not amount to anything.

 

[Duane]

I don't care about all of that.

You can find the truth if you dig.

I have always thought nuclear was the way we should head and if we got enough of those in the US we could eventually move to more electric car options and reduce our dependency on oil.

The only thing I worried about is the initial safety in disaster type situations and the idea of safely getting rid of the waste.

If the power plants in Japan hold up over the long haul, then it will be ok, if they do not then all of the positives posted now will not amount to anything.

I work in the power industry and that's the crux of the problem. No one wants the waste either being transported through or permanently residing in their state.

 

[burmafrd]

There is not that much waste that is long lived from the newer reactors anymore. The nuclear waste arguement has been a strawman for a long time.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

There is not that much waste that is long lived from the newer reactors anymore. The nuclear waste arguement has been a strawman for a long time.

It's not a strawman, if states don't want it in their states because they worry about it.

Just because you don't like the argument, does not mean it does not exist.

It is a legit concern among many people and states.

If that can be corrected and they can come up with a way that it is no longer a concern...well, it will no longer be a concern.

 

[theogt]

I don't care about all of that.

Well, I do. The problem is the PR, not the truth. People act irrationally and don't attempt to discover the truth.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Well, I do. The problem is the PR, not the truth. People act irrationally and don't attempt to discover the truth.

People who want to know the real truth can find the real truth...even if it does not fit their preconceived notions. And finding the real truth might take some time.

Then there are those who do not want to find the real truth if it does not match their preconceived notions and they are not interested in waiting to find the real truth if it opposes their own notions.

Then there are those that do not think things all the way out. They only think in limited black and white situations.

 

[theogt]

People who want to know the real truth can find the real truth...even if it does not fit their preconceived notions. And finding the real truth might take some time.

Then there are those who do not want to find the real truth if it does not match their preconceived notions and they are not interested in waiting to find the real truth if it opposes their own notions.

Then there are those that do not think things all the way out. They only think in limited black and white situations.

The issue here is that the decisions on nuclear power are based on public perception, not the truth. The public perception is based on the sensationalism, not the redaction.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

The issue here is that the decisions on nuclear power are based on public perception, not the truth. The public perception is based on the sensationalism, not the redaction.

For the weak minded sheep who are willing to follow anything without thinking for themselves...sure.