tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post8569558799148330275..comments2023-04-07T05:19:44.951-04:00Comments on Yes Vermont Yankee: Fukushima: What I Think I Know So FarMeredith Angwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-89285080408098126152011-03-14T18:33:41.368-04:002011-03-14T18:33:41.368-04:00Martin
At first, I thought you were linking to IE...Martin<br /><br />At first, I thought you were linking to IEEE, which is a pretty credible place. I don't find the IEER, "carbon-free and nuclear-free" to be credible. Been too long a supporter of renewables to enjoy seeing them oversold that way.<br /><br />However, I will try to get around to reading it. So much stuff coming out, I don't feel I have time for organizations that are not believable to start with. It's a triage type thing.Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-13763523349167378042011-03-14T18:19:33.785-04:002011-03-14T18:19:33.785-04:00Useful analysis of whether the spent-fuel pools at...Useful analysis of whether the spent-fuel pools at No. 1 may have been compromised:<br />http://www.ieer.org/comments/Daiichi-Fukushima-reactors_IEERstatement.pdfMartin Langeveldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05745134335677178737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-23467944665941003782011-03-14T15:25:28.875-04:002011-03-14T15:25:28.875-04:00Reactor No. 2 at Fukushima Daiichi (situated betwe...Reactor No. 2 at Fukushima Daiichi (situated between the two that have had hydrogen explosions) is now in the worst shape. They are removing wall panels from the refuelling floor to try to prevent a third explosion, but the fuel rods have been fully exposed several times. <br /><br />Source recommendation that avoids nonsense and editorial filters and only posts the most authoritative updates in a well-organized format:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_I_nuclear_accidentsMartin Langeveldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05745134335677178737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-284064193429901902011-03-14T14:39:39.485-04:002011-03-14T14:39:39.485-04:00Hi Anonymous.
Clean and Safe thing is working f...Hi Anonymous. <br /><br />Clean and Safe thing is working fine for me. Nuclear has kept the skies clear of coal smoke, and the rivers clear of dams. So far, the problems in Japan have been two industrial accidents (with one person killed, and several more injured) and enough radiation released for precautions to be taken.<br /><br />Also, delighted that you hang on every word of my blog, and are upset when I miss a day! I love to have fans!Meredith Angwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737538041807740424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-44002084082023528882011-03-14T14:25:57.665-04:002011-03-14T14:25:57.665-04:00Good thing nothing has happened since yesterday......Good thing nothing has happened since yesterday...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-77139230907936464312011-03-13T15:38:37.095-04:002011-03-13T15:38:37.095-04:00How's that clean and safe thing workin' ou...How's that clean and safe thing workin' out for you?<br /><br />Nuclear Crisis Spreads to 4th PlantAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-25824116911140345962011-03-13T11:55:31.915-04:002011-03-13T11:55:31.915-04:00“The entire town was enriched by Tokyo Power,” Kum...“The entire town was enriched by Tokyo Power,” Kumiko Fukaya, 48, said, referring to the company that runs the plants, the closest of which is three miles from her home. “I thought they picked a safe and secure location. So instead of opposing the nuclear plant, I felt more security. “Now I realize it’s a scary thing.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-59342673993164184092011-03-13T10:22:17.469-04:002011-03-13T10:22:17.469-04:00Sunday morning and things have changed again ....
...Sunday morning and things have changed again ....<br /><br />My last comment to your previous post said we're now dealing with 6 crippled reactors in Japan, but according to this Australian blogger there may be 7 in total: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2011/03/13/tracking-the-fallout-and-falsehoods-at-fukushima/<br /><br />There are several emerging lessons here for Vermont Yankee (which is, after all, what this blog is about):<br /><br />First, while the emergency is unfolding, the authorities should get their story straight. VY, while it aims for a degree of openness, has a history of at least being disingenuous ("we have no underground pipes"). In Japan, through Saturday, people who have no idea what they are talking about issued statements that are clearly off base. This includes talk about the explosion being in the turbine building (pictures show clearly it was at the top of the reactor building), and talk about the concrete structure housing the reactor being destroyed (it was not — only the walls of the refueling floor area at the top of the reactor building were blown out).<br /><br />If, in fact, the concrete quasi-containment building had been destroyed, the spent fuel pool would have been ruptured, creating a whole other set of hazards, including making it impossible to work in the proximity of the reactor. Since seawater pumping is going on, that is hopefully not the case.<br /><br />On the other hand, the Japanese can hardly be blamed for failure to communicate, given that they have a trifecta of huge disasters going on.<br /><br />The second lesson is that all fail-safe scenarios can fail. The root causes of the Japanese failure are not clear: the first problem was clearly that the entire grid went down, leaving these plants without power for pumps to cool the reactors. But why did the backup generators fail? Some have suggested it was the tsunami, which was a 23-foot wave in that area, but is that plausible? In any case, they failed, and then battery backups ran out of time, and then perhaps because of transportation issues, measures to bring in more generating or pumping capacity failed. I've come across one mention that says it's now the US Navy that's supplying the seawater pumping, but that's not confirmed.<br /><br />At VY, the cooling backup "fail-safe" system includes a normal power connection to the grid; a secondary (underground) power connection to the nearby Vernon hydroelectric power station; on-site generators; and (I believe but I'm not sure) battery backup.<br /><br />Scenarios at VY that disrupt everything up to the battery backup are implausible but not impossible. We have no idea what the 1000 or 10,000-year earthquake risks are in the area, but we know that the grid is vulnerable to disruption; the dam is 100 years old and would shut down the hydro station if breached; batteries last only so long; and the US Navy can't get up the Connecticut River. So what is VY's plan beyond the final fail-safes, assuming a regional catastrophe that disrupts not only power but transportation?<br /><br />These are questions that wil be raised in the months ahead as Entergy attempts to make a deal with the powers that be in Vermont. Until 48 hours ago, they had a shot at a deal combining infrastructure upgrades, full funding of the decom fund, and a reasonable power deal. But now, they will have to overcome, as well, the political resistance that may come even from erstwhile supporters as a result of the Japanese disasters.Martin Langeveldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05745134335677178737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-64428832869968771672011-03-13T09:03:31.471-04:002011-03-13T09:03:31.471-04:00https://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-...https://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-japans-nuclear-reactors/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033288879708780106.post-77893789462860629812011-03-13T00:55:50.798-05:002011-03-13T00:55:50.798-05:00Thanks for the update. I had no idea that hydroge...Thanks for the update. I had no idea that hydrogen was used as a coolant for the generators, and so I thought a hydrogen explosion must have been from hydrogen evolved from the core (i.e., very bad news). This is still bad news, but at least not as bad as it could be. I'll wait for the after incident inspection report to come out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com