Tokyo 8.9 MAGNiTUDE &-nuclear reactor
- Thread starter Allen
- Start date
Allen
Member
I know nobody cares about this stuff, but in California, we're in earthquake country. Where I live, the beach was a mess this morning and we live 30 miles from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. So for us, it's a no nonsense thing. This kind of stuff also affects the fishing industry, which is how I make part of my living. Gerry, the nuclear emergency agency have declared an earthquake damage reactor. This stuff is about like going to war. As far as I'm concerned, nobody tells you the truth about anything.
Mike
Well-Known Member
That story was in constant flux throughout the day. The latest report I have seen says people in a 10 kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiich plant were being warned to evacuate the area, as radiation levels were 8 times the normal level, outside the facility and 1,000 times normal inside the control room. they were having problems with a second reactor at that plant and also with three reactors at the nearby Fukushima Daini plant.
Without trying to downplay what is a very serious problem, we also need to remember the protection levels the Fukushima Daiich plant operates under. Even at the increased level of radiation, a person would have to stand at the gates of the plant for 70 days and nights before they would exceed what the plant authorities determine to be a safe yearly level of radiation exposure.
Color me not a big fan of nuclear power generation.
Allen, if there was that big an earthquake in Japan, it only stands to reason there will be another one happening, somewhere along the Pacific Rim.
Without trying to downplay what is a very serious problem, we also need to remember the protection levels the Fukushima Daiich plant operates under. Even at the increased level of radiation, a person would have to stand at the gates of the plant for 70 days and nights before they would exceed what the plant authorities determine to be a safe yearly level of radiation exposure.
Color me not a big fan of nuclear power generation.
Allen, if there was that big an earthquake in Japan, it only stands to reason there will be another one happening, somewhere along the Pacific Rim.
ellis8500
Member
The news media likes to over play events while the authorities minimize things. The real problem though is that the general population is uneducated regarding anything nuclear. In fact, we are puposely missled. As Mike said, a higher than normal radiation level in a reactor facility might be lower than the normal backround radiation one experiences while standing outside. A 100 time normal might be the same as getting a dental xray. We aren't ever given exposure numbers by the news nor authorities. Even with some high exposure there will not be instant deaths. There might be a higher rate of cancers sometime in the future. Nobody knows for sure.
Most do not know this....when MRI technology was first developed it was called NMRI; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging. After some years the word Nuclear was dropped because it scared people...even though no radioactive materials are used in an NMRI. The nuclear term refers to the nucleas of atoms in your body. An MRI bombards your body with radio frequency waves. The nuclei in your atoms align to the waves. When the wave stops the nuclei "snap" back into their original place which emits other radio frequency waves. Complex math algorithms process and interperet the collected radio information and produce an image.
Most do not know this....when MRI technology was first developed it was called NMRI; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging. After some years the word Nuclear was dropped because it scared people...even though no radioactive materials are used in an NMRI. The nuclear term refers to the nucleas of atoms in your body. An MRI bombards your body with radio frequency waves. The nuclei in your atoms align to the waves. When the wave stops the nuclei "snap" back into their original place which emits other radio frequency waves. Complex math algorithms process and interperet the collected radio information and produce an image.
Mike
Well-Known Member
Speaking only for myself, I don't really like to be bombarded with RF. I'm sure there are some other Amateur Radio Operators out there who have also learned excessive use of a handheld radio is not advised. And look at all the people who live their lives with a cell phone stuck to their ear. How many of today's teens are going to have Jello for brains in later life, because of all the close proximity RF they subject themselves to.
That's the problem with new technologies, we never really know for sure what things are going to be like until the 3rd or 4th generation comes along, when we can start identifying medical hazards.
That's the problem with new technologies, we never really know for sure what things are going to be like until the 3rd or 4th generation comes along, when we can start identifying medical hazards.
TubT
Member
The radiation restrictions on nuclear plants is extremely low, but I don't think concern about the two most seriously damaged reactors in Japan is misplaced.
(The U.S. Capitol building is made of granite. Granite is radioactive. If the Capitol was a nuclear plant, it would have to close down, because it's radioactivity level is above the maximums.)
(The U.S. Capitol building is made of granite. Granite is radioactive. If the Capitol was a nuclear plant, it would have to close down, because it's radioactivity level is above the maximums.)
Mike
Well-Known Member
I don't think most people realize just how bad Chernobyl really was. HERE is a Web site put together by a young lady who has toured the Chernobyl area on motorcycle. Some of the photos and their descriptions will leave you speechless, when you see how unprepared the people of Chernobyl were, how unprepared the government authorities were and how the area has been slipping back to nature since the disaster. The Web site is a bit tough to navigate, but you'll find chapter links at the bottom of the pages. There are 2 or 3 different sections, each with its own chapters. And the images are well worth viewing.
The concrete sarcophagus built over the reactor at Chernobyl is deteriorating to a point where they are going to have to start adding more cement to control leaks. But now, the authorities are afraid the additional weight will break through the Earth's crust and will dump everything into one of the largest aquifers in Europe. Mother Nature is still punishing man for the mistakes of Chernobyl. And just think, simple mistakes can happen anywhere.
Here's a bit of trivia for you - The vessel rupture at Chernobyl took place 26 April 1986. When did the Ukrainian authorities finally shut down the last reactor at this plant? Can you believe the plant was operated for 14 more years, finally being closed down in 2000?
The concrete sarcophagus built over the reactor at Chernobyl is deteriorating to a point where they are going to have to start adding more cement to control leaks. But now, the authorities are afraid the additional weight will break through the Earth's crust and will dump everything into one of the largest aquifers in Europe. Mother Nature is still punishing man for the mistakes of Chernobyl. And just think, simple mistakes can happen anywhere.
Here's a bit of trivia for you - The vessel rupture at Chernobyl took place 26 April 1986. When did the Ukrainian authorities finally shut down the last reactor at this plant? Can you believe the plant was operated for 14 more years, finally being closed down in 2000?
Perhaps that explains why our polititions are the way they are????? I'm just saying. :soccer:
Russ
Allen
Member
I know we're not supposed to talk about religion. I suggest a little prayer and reading Revelations. From what I see, the clock is ticking. Japan has a great love for Hot Rods, and now there are millions of people without food and water. We're all a heartbeat away from it. This should be a wake up call. My thoughts and prayers go out to these people.
Differen T
Member
Natural disasters happen. As mere mortals all we can do is prepare for the worst as we understand it. One part of the safety systems worked as planned. The plant began shut down and the back up systems were intact and ready in case the electric grid failed. Then a wall of water, far bigger than anyone ever expected, wiped out not only the grid, but the back up generation capacity too. The third back up, batteries had about an 8 hour lif span and with the total destruction in the area replacements were unavailable. Human error in this case underestimated nature.
Comparison to TMI and Chernobyl show vastly different stories. TMI operators refused to believe the information they were getting in the control room and did exactly the opposite things that would have prevented the partial melt down. Chernobyl was a complete violation of safety regulations and poor design. The operators were deliberately trying to exceed the amount of power the plant was designed to produce from a plant that was poorly designed (read cheaply rushed to completion).
But the disaster that changed our country, 9/11, was completely avoidable. During the seventies when airline high jackings were an almost weekly occurrence secure cockpits were suggested and rejected as too expensive for the airlines. If only we would have done it right the first time how much could we have saved? Eight thousand American deaths and two wars that have cost us 2.5 billion dollars a day for the last eight years.
As a bit of trivia, I flew over TMI in a commercial airliner and could see it well at about the time that the TMI disaster began.
Al
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Allen
Member
Most of the NUCLEAR- plants in the United States-share some or all of the risk factors that played a role at --Fukushima Daiichi:-- locations on tsunami- prone coastlines or near earthquake faults, aging plants and backup electrical systems that rely on diesel -generators and batteries that could fall in extreme circumstances.?--NOT GOOD.
Mike
Well-Known Member
I just read a report they have had yet another explosion and once again have exposed fuel rods to deal with.
Allen, you're correct about some of the aging nuclear plants in this country. And if they decommission more of them, then we have even more fuel rod waste to leave our offspring.
Allen, you're correct about some of the aging nuclear plants in this country. And if they decommission more of them, then we have even more fuel rod waste to leave our offspring.
I was surprised to see that the US has 104 nuclear power plants. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/reactors.html I thought the number was much lower.
Allen
Member
Sorry for the double post. My dad's been a lot on my mind lately. He worked of Pacific Electric and Gas in CA. At the dinner table, you didn't dare talk bad about nuclear power. It was putting food on the table. I lost him a couple of years ago. The last few days I've been thinking about him--- what he would think of this mess, so- called clean energy.
