Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Canada Nuclear Bosses Engage with the Public

Article

"There's nothing about Lake Huron that looks like the Pacific Ocean, there's nothing about the geology on Lake Huron that looks like the ring of fire around Japan and there's nothing about the Candu design that look anything like" the type of reactors used in Japan, he said.

OPG's boss also wrote a very nice letter showing a human side.  Although these guys never write their own stuff, I'm sure the speechwriters might read my blog.  :)  I'm waiting for the "We are human." note from the CNSC!

Germany is going a bit far, closing their old plants, which I am sure are a million times better than Pickering!

As well, the new-Darlington hearings start today at a small church.  Will they have enough parking?  What are they going to say, since they don't have a design?  We could be putting up a Japanese BWR!  :)

Interesting that spent fuel swimming pools are boiling in Japan.  This can be easily solved by throwing in a firehose with seawater.  Since they are throwing seawater all over the place, the whole plant will be destroyed by corrosion, but I don't think anybody would want to start it up again.

What is the aftermath of all this?  The fault rupture will now have its 500 year 'stress shadow'.  There will be no chance of the lightning striking twice here, but I wonder if they will go overboard and throw in a lot of tsunami protection along that coast.  But the bigger issue is everywhere else in Japan!

I think the lack of power will kill more people in Japan than the actual nuclear disaster, or tsunami, due to obvious effects (hospitals), but the more insidious effect of increasing poverty (lowering the standard of living).  That's what I was always worried about for the Toronto Earthquake Scenario.  It is the economic devastation caused by the inadequate seismic performance of the nuclear plants.  The earthquake may slag some reactors, but they all may never start again for a long time.

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