Monday, March 14, 2011

Nuclear Hysteria

Well, it's going to be fun to sit back and watch the sound-bites flash by.  We were only getting back into nuclear because of the horrid alternatives.  How much power does it take to manufacture and maintain fancy solar cells, and wind things? Do they ever make it back in gloomy and windless Ontario?

But still, all nuclear plants botch up the seismic thing.  The Japanese hid behind their nuclear secret curtain, simply because they did not want it know that their reactors are as fragile as glass.  They never let anybody know anything with regard to seismic, and hid all their horrible experience.

Now, everybody and their dog is trying to localize this for the local news stations.  There are a million 'Will it happen here?" stories, and nuclear plans are being shelved everywhere.

What is fundamentally wrong with the nuclear industry?  They feel besieged, and put up a glum silent face.  The only people allowed to talk are the trained talking heads.  At least in the old days we used to put up experts, but there aren't any left.  In these days of iPad2's, does anybody go for these Soviet methods?  No, and that's why they drive out all intelligence.  There are only the janitors in charge, and they don't do seismic.

So, with our 1 in 500 year earthquake, we will be in the same situation as Japan.  Hell, they almost slagged the reactors with the recent Great Blackout.  The reactors will be injecting lake water into the calandrias, using firetruck pumpers, and they will be fighting hydrogen explosions, and radioactive steam releases.  This will be because of Japanese-type sloppiness.

Still, no panic people!  The steam only has the volatiles.  The hard stuff stays as molten slag in the reactors.  There is no nuclear explosion.  At the end you won't be able to tell the health impact over the effect of obesity trends.  Just like we could never tell the impact of being showered by plutonium with the 50's nuclear tests, because of smoking.

When the janitors took over the old company, everything was built according to the School of Too Cheap to Live".  The Niagara Tunnel started like that.  That means 'everything-else' that was not the heavy stuff, which was 'seismically qualified'.  In fact, they spent billions on unnecessary 'seismic design', since nothing could touch this stuff anyway, but they left the back flap of their drawers open.  This is shown by the horrid foundation conditions of the back-up generators, and block walls everywhere.

The worst thing for the Japanese now is that they have no power.  Are they going to let the glass reactors operate for the next section that is sure to rupture?  Very interesting.

2 comments:

Jan said...

"How much power does it take to manufacture and maintain fancy solar cells, and wind things? "

The energy pay back time for photoltaic systems lies is 1.5 to 5 years dependent on technology type and local sun climate. For wind turbines it is no more than half a year.

Harold Asmis said...

Ok.