New Emergency at Fukushima Reactor

[BlackCat]

US nuclear energy is incredibly safe, and our nuclear power plants are tightly regulated and well-staffed. Perhaps not in Japan, but I think we should definitely be expanding our nuclear infrastructure here in the US.

Yet again HC post something incredabily stupid

[Hauldren Collider]

incredabily stupid

irony

[DaShi]

Well, HC, you don't have a lot of credibility on these forums. However, I think this is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate otherwise.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Flush it out to sea!

You joke tongue in cheek fashion but realistically thats one of the better alternatives. Most of the radwaste is particulate and will settle on the ocean bottom. Theres at least six nuke sub cores between US and Soviet/russian on the ocean bottom already. Unless the radwaste material particulates are entrained or otherwise made mobile then its a perfectly viable way of letting the material decay off.

[snoopy369]

I don't think MRT was joking.

[MRT144]

I was not.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Ahh well then, carry on.

[Docfeelgood]

You joke tongue in cheek fashion but realistically thats one of the better alternatives. Most of the radwaste is particulate and will settle on the ocean bottom. Theres at least six nuke sub cores between US and Soviet/russian on the ocean bottom already. Unless the radwaste material particulates are entrained or otherwise made mobile then its a perfectly viable way of letting the material decay off.

BTW
I read a report that states that new evidence points to the oceans as not able to diffuse/dilute/dissipate radiation as scientist first thought.

[regexcellent]

Flush it out to sea!

Actually if you just dropped it in a big shipping container filled with concrete into the Marianas Trench that would probably do the trick quite nicely.

Before anyone suggests that there is wildlife and the environment down there to be concerned about, no there isn't.

[Dinner]

What exactly do you do with 100 tonnes of radioactive water each day?

Use it to mix with fruit juice concentrate then export it to China. It's ok, the Chinese are already used to food which will kill them.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Looks like up until now they have been releasing tritiated water (a low beta emitter). They have seen a number of ground wells spiking for Cesium 134 and 137 and will begin testing for Strontium isotopes.

http://preview.reuters.com/2013/8/5/fukushima-radioactive-water-likely-breached

[PLATO]

Going back to small modular reactors....the whole cooling issue could have been moot if they had been using something like Westinghouse's SMR. It is capable of natural cooling for up to 7 days with no intervention whatsoever. Granted, its output is less that 300 Mw, but so what? Build a plant with 4 or 5 of them and you have the equivalent of a large reactor at less cost and much more safety.

In the case of Fukushima, it would have made all the difference in the world.

Hard to believe that SMRs are not dominating the discussion about the future of nuclear power.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

They have yet to be blessed off by the NRC. The level of effort for Combined Operating License Applications (COLA) and permitting applies for either the SMR or the AP1000's. No one wants to be the first mover on these things. The AP1000's have the advantage of ongoing installs in China and at Vogtle in the US. Thus the AP1000 wil be the choice for the near future for safer, largely passively cooled nukes. In general, cheap natural gas has shelved many utilities from going nuke for the short term.

[dannubis]

Before anyone suggests that there is wildlife and the environment down there to be concerned about, no there isn't.

Oh my, is there anything you aren't an expert in ?

[PLATO]

They have yet to be blessed off by the NRC. The level of effort for Combined Operating License Applications (COLA) and permitting applies for either the SMR or the AP1000's. No one wants to be the first mover on these things. The AP1000's have the advantage of ongoing installs in China and at Vogtle in the US. Thus the AP1000 wil be the choice for the near future for safer, largely passively cooled nukes. In general, cheap natural gas has shelved many utilities from going nuke for the short term.

Actually I think TVA is installing an AP1000 at Bellefonte in Alabama...at least that was the discussion I read about last year when the TVA board approved the completion of one of the two units there. I am not sure, but I think that Watts Bar 2 may be an AP1000 also. Both these plants construction was mothballed in the 80's as TVA pivoted away from nuclear and they have just been put back on the board after TVA's 2 year energy review was completed in 2011. Between the 2 of them they should generate around 2800Mw if I remember correctly. This is more than a third of what TVA produces now at its existing plants.