So much for safe nuke power

[Dunkopf]

The recent events in Japan have called into question the safety of nuclear energy. It seems quite a bit of radioactivity has been released because of circumstances beyond the control of man. As fastidious as the Japanese are and as safety oriented as they are about nuclear especially, they were unable to design a nuclear core that could be protected from a serious quake. Chernobyl was a very serious disaster. However it was an easy write off because of course the Russians don't care about safety and have long been known for shoddy workmanship. At least that's what I have read in the past. Now the Japanese have at least 3 reactors that have melted down and one that may have a hydrogen explosion much like they were afraid of with 3 mile Island.

It sounds to me like nuclear power isn't quite as safe as it needs to be. I thought they had overcome safety issues by now. Guess I was wrong. I think that nuclear energy is going to be taken off the table as a viable energy alternative. We will of course have proponents saying to build them in areas that don't have earthquakes. It used to be that Arkansas didn't have earthquakes. You just can't mess with Mother Nature.

 

[MorelCabin]

Yeah, they'll all end up in my neck of the woods and then we'll have the first earth quake ever. They are not safe PERIOD and shouldn't be considered at all anywhere

 

[FarmerDenise]

Agreed.

ETA: I am going to get me some iodine pills.

Oh and what about that oil refinery fire. No-one mentions the toxic plume that is going into the atmosphere from that!!!

 

[rebecca100]

As a person who lives in Arkansas I have researched where any nuclear plants are in our state. Now I have something else to worry about! Sheesh! But in truth Arkansas has always had earthquakes and has like two or more faults. The quakes are just getting worse and therefore getting more notice. My question is how do we rebuild if that were to happen here? Soil contaminated and animals dead or dying?

 

[moolie]

...However it was an easy write off because of course the Russians don't care about safety and have long been known for shoddy workmanship. At least that's what I have read in the past.

Please pardon me for the thread hijack, but it really bothers me to read ignorant comments like this. It is far better to NOT generalize regarding any national or ethnic group than to potentially expose one's self as ignorant and bigoted. I have read this type of statement too often on this forum and really had to speak my mind this time.

Dunkopf, please do not take this personally but rather please read it for what I am saying in general terms, as I believe that you just didn't realize the impact of your words and I trust from all I have read in your past posts that you are a generally open-minded person. Your post was just one straw too far for me to stay quiet on this subject.

But I would like to make the small request that all forum members truly think before they generalize about any group--Native Indian, Russian, Mexican, Chinese... are just a few of those I have read carelessly maligned as entire ethnic groups on this forum. Please just think before you post. "Us" and "them" thinking only results in war, whether it be a war of beliefs that serves to drive a wedge between people, or actual killing over those different beliefs. And many of us reading along as well as your friends and neighbors fall into those groups.

I am of Russian/Ukrainian descent, and people of every nationality/ethnicity care just as much about their work, and for that matter their children, their homes, and how they are perceived by others. Americans do NOT have a monopoly on doing their best (and in fact are regarded as quite lazy by international standards if we want to get into generalizations).

The Soviet Union, at the time of the Chernobyl disaster, was falling apart and had been for some time. People in many professions had not had a regular paycheque in months or years, depending on their status. The Chernobyl plant in particular was said to have been understaffed (as were many other government and military run facilities at the time). The accident was actually the result of mistakes made during a test of the cooling system--yes, human error, but not due to "shoddy workmanship" or not caring about one's job.

(For more info you can google "Chernobyl timeline" or similar and read the various accounts but a simple timeline can be found at http://www.osaarchivum.org/guide/rip/10/Timeline-IV.html. There is a particularly touching account specifying by name and post how the workers on shift that night stayed at their posts as long as possible to try to cool the plant back down but I was unable to find it in my brief search. These individuals died horrible deaths within days/weeks of the accident. Many other military and civilian workers laboured to build the "sarcophagus" that now covers the plant, sealing in what can be contained.)

The very same thing could happen at any aging nuclear facility in my own country (which has recently privatized our national nuclear agency) as well as at any aging nuclear facility in the US if the "perfect storm" of situations were similar to what happened at Chernobyl.

As regards nuclear power generation, I have always held the personal view that the dangers far outweigh any other considerations.

 

[Dunkopf]

...However it was an easy write off because of course the Russians don't care about safety and have long been known for shoddy workmanship. At least that's what I have read in the past.

Please pardon me for the thread hijack, but it really bothers me to read ignorant comments like this. It is far better to NOT generalize regarding any national or ethnic group than to potentially expose one's self as ignorant and bigoted. I have read this type of statement too often on this forum and really had to speak my mind this time.

Dunkopf, please do not take this personally but rather please read it for what I am saying in general terms, as I believe that you just didn't realize the impact of your words and I trust from all I have read in your past posts that you are a generally open-minded person. Your post was just one straw too far for me to stay quiet on this subject.

But I would like to make the small request that all forum members truly think before they generalize about any group--Native Indian, Russian, Mexican, Chinese... are just a few of those I have read carelessly maligned as entire ethnic groups on this forum. Please just think before you post. "Us" and "them" thinking only results in war, whether it be a war of beliefs that serves to drive a wedge between people, or actual killing over those different beliefs. And many of us reading along as well as your friends and neighbors fall into those groups.

I am of Russian/Ukrainian descent, and people of every nationality/ethnicity care just as much about their work, and for that matter their children, their homes, and how they are perceived by others. Americans do NOT have a monopoly on doing their best (and in fact are regarded as quite lazy by international standards if we want to get into generalizations).

The Soviet Union, at the time of the Chernobyl disaster, was falling apart and had been for some time. People in many professions had not had a regular paycheque in months or years, depending on their status. The Chernobyl plant in particular was said to have been understaffed (as were many other government and military run facilities at the time). The accident was actually the result of mistakes made during a test of the cooling system--yes, human error, but not due to "shoddy workmanship" or not caring about one's job.

(For more info you can google "Chernobyl timeline" or similar and read the various accounts but a simple timeline can be found at http://www.osaarchivum.org/guide/rip/10/Timeline-IV.html. There is a particularly touching account specifying by name and post how the workers on shift that night stayed at their posts as long as possible to try to cool the plant back down but I was unable to find it in my brief search. These individuals died horrible deaths within days/weeks of the accident. Many other military and civilian workers laboured to build the "sarcophagus" that now covers the plant, sealing in what can be contained.)

The very same thing could happen at any aging nuclear facility in my own country (which has recently privatized our national nuclear agency) as well as at any aging nuclear facility in the US if the "perfect storm" of situations were similar to what happened at Chernobyl.

As regards nuclear power generation, I have always held the personal view that the dangers far outweigh any other considerations.

To Moolieand anyone else that was offended. I am sorry if I offended you by restating something that was written by someone else on this forum in a post related to energy creation. I was also offended when I first read that and as such I should of made it clear that it was not my opinion and was meant in sarcasm. That's the reason I put "Or at least that's what I have read". At the time I first read that it was explained that Chernobyl only blew up because it was constructed by the guberment of the U.S.S.R. and was constructed poorly for the reasons included.

If you have ever read one of my postings you know that I am not bigoted. That statement was sarcastic and was meant to stop that line of reasoning before it even came up again. Thank you for expressing your displeasure on the thread vs complaining to the moderators as so often happens when someone is offended.

I hope this thread can continue and discuss the dangers of nuclear power instead of bigotry.

 

[Marianne]

When I read on another thread about how much power the nuclear plants produce vs. wind turbines, etc., my only thought was 'didn't we learn anything from Chernobyl?"

Energy yes, but not worth the dangers. I have the same feeling about drilling in the oceans.

Like Ed Begley Jr. says, use all the power you want, but produce what you use. I'm not in a position to have solar panels or a turbine (cost considerations), but I do try to limit ele consumption in a variety of ways (burn wood for heat, hang dry clothes, etc)

Most of us here do similar things. Unfortunately, so much of our society as a whole feels deprived if they can't have every new energy consuming gadget there is. If everyone cut their consumption by half, think of the reprecussions - and benefits!

But I'm preachin' to the choir here.

 

[Wifezilla]

Just a little perspective....

According to the news this morning, you get more exposure to radiation just living in Denver than the people in Japan near the nuclear reactor that were treated.

 

[FarmerChick]

nuclear power plants are needed.
Japan is small, what are you going to have, 100,000 windmills supplying power around the county for a few blocks of power...lol (or whatever, being sarcastic here)

get real people
real power is needed, not every city in this country can convert to solar right now or put up a windmill ain't happening.....nuclear----make it better, more research, more safety factors, etc.

 

[patandchickens]

I dunno about "need". It is all relative to demand...

Pat