Nuclear explosion in Japan

[BlasterBates]

Ignorant fools are suggesting on every hand that Japan's problems actually mean fresh obstacles in the way of new nuclear plants here in the UK, Europe and the US.

That can only be true if an unbelievable level of public ignorance of the real facts, born of truly dreadful news reporting over the weekend, is allowed to persist.

Which sums up not just reporting on this, but anything remotely environmental, whether it was the ice berg that broke off from Antarctica or the Gulf oil leak, both of which supposedly were going to stop the Gulf stream. I remember George Monbiot painting a vision of crude oil raining down on Florida, poisoning millions of people, when the hurricanes were going to pick up the oil. In fact at that time ZDF had a rather pathetic talkshow, about whether man was on the verge of destroying the planet.

I'm waiting for the first one to speculate on a link to global warming.

[OwlHoot]

I'm waiting for the first one to speculate on a link to global warming.

I'd imagine all those tens of thousands of square miles of muddy fields, festering in the Sun, will be quite a potent source of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas

[TimberWolf]

Reactor #2's fuel rods are thought to be exposed again. Also being reported is that Japan are asking for US advice on how to cool reactors, which is maybe just made-up news as it sounds bizarre. They'll be asking for British advice next And I say 'thought', because it was reported earlier today that the water gauge was playing up, giving a false (low) reading, which again sounds odd to have only one. I guess they are having trouble getting water into what is still a high pressure water system though, even though it isn't called a Pressurised Water Reactor.

[suityou01]

SminkyPinky

Water levels dropped precipitously Monday inside a stricken Japanese nuclear reactor, twice leaving the uranium fuel rods completely exposed and raising the threat of a meltdown, hours after a hydrogen explosion tore through the building housing a different reactor.

Later, a top Japanese official said the fuel rods in all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors appeared to be melting.

[TimberWolf]

SminkyPinky

This design is meant to be fail safe when there is no water (the chain reaction is halted) or with water (for cooling), but I'm not sure about letting them dry out and then covering them with water again in cycles

[BlasterBates]

The Germans have just announce the immediate closure of two Nuclear power stations.

Looks like the Germans are going ahead with phasing out Nuclear power.

Since coal and gas are politically unacceptable I'm looking forward to exponentially rising electricity bills.

Bye bye industrial Germany.

[suityou01]

This design is meant to be fail safe when there is no water (the chain reaction is halted) or with water (for cooling), but I'm not sure about letting them dry out and then covering them with water again in cycles

They are supposed to use demineralised water as the ions in normal water readily absorb radiation. So to boil dry and then top up with seawater means they have some big problems if the cores have started to melt.

[TimberWolf]

They are supposed to use demineralised water as the ions in normal water readily absorb radiation. So to boil dry and then top up with seawater means they have some big problems if the cores have started to melt.

'boil dry' sounds kind of innocuous, but that 'boiled dry' water has got to go somewhere Who knows what the true story is. Maybe we'll have to wait until Sweden or Canada reports radiation levels or more believable reports come out.

[doodab]

I find it a bit sad that so much attention is being given to these nuclear power station problems. The tsunami has already dwarfed anything that is going to happen with these reactors in terms of human, environmental and economic impact.

[suityou01]

'boil dry' sounds kind of innocuous, but that 'boiled dry' water has got to go somewhere Who knows what the true story is. Maybe we'll have to wait until Sweden or Canada reports radiation levels or more believable reports come out.

It does. When it goes boom (twice now) and all the steam comes out with low half life radiation that's where the water goes.