Japan's Chernobyl

[BlackListedB]

I've not been on here for some time, trying things elsewhere, but it's time to make presence known again. I am most curious about how Japan stems a Nuclear meltdown, something the world has not worried about since Chernobyl in the Ukraine, 1986. It was not until tested workers in Sweden noticed high levels of radiation that the outside World became aware something was simply not right.

Years of secrecy and working under their own guidelines meant that systems and buildings were not up to standards of the World. The plants in Japan were built in the 60s or 70s and are problematic we are finding out through reported faults at GE who pressed on with their designs at that time.

The worst case scenarios came to fruition as we noticed, so much misunderstanding that Californians live in more fear of the fallout then an upcoming quake on their side of the Ocean. More then the unrest in Libya and Yeman, Bahrain, etc, which is compelling to say the least, the nuclear incident and Tsunami along with snow and cold winter there, almost too much to even imagine going through!!

In light of the events, I used YouTube to watch documented video and news on both Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, I was in High School in 1986, when it happened and my memory is just too foggy. Even recalling Muammar Qaddafi at that time, as Ronald Reagan referred to him, the Mad Dog of the Middle East, the UN Resolution of a No Fly Zone there has resulted in French Air Strikes against the military hardware he's since amassed. I wonder if you guys were discussing these events already and I missed it, if so, cut and paste my addition there! I advise if you're in the USA and watching MSNBC clips on Xbox Live, check out that Chernobyl updates but make sure to see the Russian footage shot at the time, to get an understanding of events, I feel they only got HALF the story, if even that.

[Masked Marauder]

I have had experience around nuclear power. I won't divulge details, but I have seen the inside of an actual reactor up close, which is more than most folks. From that experience I can say that nuclear power in the U.S. is something that should be utilized, not feared. Most people who cringe and start spouting at the head hole about the evils of nuclear energy from the mere mention of the word "nuclear" have no clue whatsoever regarding the design features and security implemented at U.S. nuclear facilities. I will even provide an example to vouch for my credibility. Security personal would insist on looking inside my coffee cup EVERY morning as part of regular procedure; and this was well before 9-11. I know of folks who were banned from ever setting foot inside a facility again; not because they did something wrong, but because plant personel had the impression that they SHOULD have done something about somebody ELSE who supposedly did something wrong - even though those who were banned were completely ignorant of the situation by no fault of their own! Does the media ever inform the public about non-dramatic everyday events such as this? Of course not. But mention the words "Three Mile Island" in a gathering of people and they will probably look at you like you just trouser coughed and lit a cigarette. Why? Because the media had no problem bringing that bit of drama to our attention.

There are major differences between 3 Mile and Chernobyl. At 3 Mile there were no casualties, the core PARTIALLY melted down, the facility is/was designed and built much more securely, the emergency systems functioned properly, and there was a MINIMAL release into the atmosphere. In short: what happened there was what was SUPPOSED to happen during an emergency situation. I don't remember what CAUSED the emergency in the first place, perhaps human error or a malfunction.

Chernobyl was a catastrophe waiting to happen. The facility was not designed or built adequately in case of a crisis or disaster, the backup/emergency systems were faulty and insufficient, and I can not speak about security procedures and such. However, from what I remember, the BIGGEST cause of the whole disaster was mostly human error. The backup systems were intentionally shutdown and the primary system that supplied coolant to the reactor was lowered for testing purposes. But when they tried to turn the systems back on to restore coolant to the proper levels in the reactor core they failed to come back online in time (if at all) and the core completely melted down. The building that housed the reactor was not designed as well as say U.S. facilities are which is why the containment building did little to limit the blast and subsequent release of radiation into the atmosphere. Which is why the remains of the facility are basically entombed in a concrete shell that will need to be continuously monitored and maintained as it erodes and decays.

And what more need a person say about Japan's current nuclear crises when they let workers mix uranium with their hands in stainless steel buckets? Except that they underestimated the potential fury of Mother Nature, much like the citizens of New Orleans did with the grossly inadequate levees before Katrina. If the folks at TEPCO had set the diesel back up generators only 10 or 20 feet higher above sea level there would most likely be no nuclear crisis in Japan right now.

What happens next will depend on two things. If they can get the cores and spent fuel pools cooled down in time then the worst is most likely over. If they can not, and there is a full meltdown, the aftermath will only be known by how well the containment buildings (what is left of them) sustain the blast. Time will tell. Where are those buckets?

Does this give the U.S. the right to be complacent regarding nuclear energy? Certainly not. But the public should not live in fear of it either. The intent of this mini-editorial, for those who actual read the whole thing, is just to share what I learned and maybe shed some light on events from the past and the current situation.

Now if you will excuse me for a while I am going to get into my beer can thin metal box on wheels and zoom down the highway at 70 miles an hour alongside a bunch of other people doing the same thing who are probably talking on their cell phones or putting on make up at the same time, or both. BOOM!

Edited March 20, 2011 by Masked Marauder