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In light of the recent problems with nuclear power in Japan, I'm getting tired of the rants and raves about why nuclear power is perfectly safe. I understand that nuclear power is necessary today, I don't think that it's handled as responsibly or safely as it should be. I also don't think it's an acceptable long term fuel source.
Here's what's happening at the Fukushima plant.
The Fukushima plant survived the earthquake, and the backup diesel generators came on-line as planned. An hour later, the tsunami came through and damaged some of the generators. Replacement generators were flown in.
Nuclear cooling pumps need megawatts of power, and hooking up power in a hot nuke is a process that needs multiple layers of co-ordination. The normal turnaround time for a changover on a live, high voltage system involves around six months of planning. High voltage in this case is defined as "over 70,000 volts."
The explosion was caused when the hydrogen normally produced in a nuclear reactor by radiolysis of the cooling water was not disposed of. Reactors have recombiners, igniters, and other means to dispose of hydrogen before an explosion hazard develops. Because there was no power to the cooling pumps, the core got too hot, and the zirconium cladding around the fuel reacted with the water to produce much more hydrogen.
This rapid, exothermic reaction is called "burning the core." The large amount of hydrogen overwhelmed the capacity of the recombiners, accumulated in secondary containment, and then exploded. The absolute worst case that could happen as a result of this is that the core could melt down to the ground water, and poisons every living thing on the planet except for the cockroaches. Before this happens, someone will make a decision to fill the whole thing in with concrete and sand.
Today, the power plant workers who volunteered to stay behind risked their lives and attached power cables. These temporary cables will supply power to the most critical equipment at the plant. The next step is to carefully and methodically identify the cooling equipment that isn't too damaged to re-energize. If there is enough salvageable hardware to get the pumps going again, The Fukushima 50 (180 electricians and other technicians working in 50 person shifts) will have the plant stabilized by the end of the weekend. The workers are out of food, five have already died, more deaths are expected.
But, of course, developing alternative fuel sources is expensive.
Source
Other Source
Here's what's happening at the Fukushima plant.
The Fukushima plant survived the earthquake, and the backup diesel generators came on-line as planned. An hour later, the tsunami came through and damaged some of the generators. Replacement generators were flown in.
Nuclear cooling pumps need megawatts of power, and hooking up power in a hot nuke is a process that needs multiple layers of co-ordination. The normal turnaround time for a changover on a live, high voltage system involves around six months of planning. High voltage in this case is defined as "over 70,000 volts."
The explosion was caused when the hydrogen normally produced in a nuclear reactor by radiolysis of the cooling water was not disposed of. Reactors have recombiners, igniters, and other means to dispose of hydrogen before an explosion hazard develops. Because there was no power to the cooling pumps, the core got too hot, and the zirconium cladding around the fuel reacted with the water to produce much more hydrogen.
This rapid, exothermic reaction is called "burning the core." The large amount of hydrogen overwhelmed the capacity of the recombiners, accumulated in secondary containment, and then exploded. The absolute worst case that could happen as a result of this is that the core could melt down to the ground water, and poisons every living thing on the planet except for the cockroaches. Before this happens, someone will make a decision to fill the whole thing in with concrete and sand.
Today, the power plant workers who volunteered to stay behind risked their lives and attached power cables. These temporary cables will supply power to the most critical equipment at the plant. The next step is to carefully and methodically identify the cooling equipment that isn't too damaged to re-energize. If there is enough salvageable hardware to get the pumps going again, The Fukushima 50 (180 electricians and other technicians working in 50 person shifts) will have the plant stabilized by the end of the weekend. The workers are out of food, five have already died, more deaths are expected.
But, of course, developing alternative fuel sources is expensive.
Source
Other Source
