Heated Fox Debate Breaks Out as Scientist ‘Redoubles’ Claim of ‘Overblown’ Nuke Concerns
- Posted on March 16, 2011 at 12:57pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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Heartland Institute science director Jay Lehr is not backing down from his claim that the media has “overblown” concerns of nuclear catastrophe in Japan. In fact, after his controversial Fox News phone-in appearance yesterday, he joined the network in-studio today and said he’s “redoubling” his claim.
(Watch Lehr’s original interview.)
That didn’t make fellow guest Dr. Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental research, too happy. He argued that even low-level amounts of radiation are cause for concern. That stirred the pot.
For those who might want to write this off as a nerdy, science fair-like debate between two braniacs, it’s not. And considering all the talk of meltdown, it’s an important conversation that must be had:
The latest reports out of Japan are that radiation levels fell later Wednesday near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. However, t it was not immediately clear if workers who had earlier been ordered away from the facility had returned, or how far away they had withdrawn. The workers at the forefront of the fight – a core team of 70 – had been regularly rotated in and out of the danger zone to minimize their radiation exposure.
Meanwhile, officials in Ibaraki prefecture, just south of Fukushima, said radiation levels were about 300 times normal levels by late morning. While those levels are unhealthy for prolonged periods, they are far from fatal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments (167)
Patriot
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:04pmThat doctor is an arrogant twit. Maybe if he read the transcript of this interview he would realize that it is him who is more often speaking over someone else with his fear mongering.
Report Post »Stop_Your_Lying_Libs
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:03pmScientists Go Nuclear As Debate Heads Toward Meltdown…
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:02pmCheck out this story about the hreoes at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/15/eveningnews/main20043554.shtml
Report Post »Her’e an excerpt:
Since the disaster struck in Japan, about 800 workers have been evacuated from the damaged nuclear complex in Fukushima. The radiation danger is that great.
However, CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod reports that a handful have stayed on the job, risking their lives, to try to save the lives of countless people they don’t even know. The exact number of workers is unclear and has been reported to be anywhere from 50 to 180.
Although communication with the workers inside the nuclear plant is nearly impossible, a CBS News consultant spoke to a Japanese official who made contact with one of the workers inside the control center.
The official said that his friend told him that he was not afraid to die, that that was his job.
Nigel2
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:55pmLots of people regurgitating what Glenn said the other day. In fact the spent rods are still hot. They, unlike the active rods DO NOT have the same type of containment vessel. And this could become a huge problem.
Glenn is a genius, but should stick with political/societal issues.
Report Post »MySacredHonor
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:02pmsorry for the confusion.. i mean HOT as in temperature… not HOT as in radioactive…
most of the fear is of the fuel “Melting Down” and through the bottom of the containment.. IE the china syndrome… NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! what im talking about is that the spent rods are not over heating, so not melting…. sorry for the confusion.
Report Post »Nigel2
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:08pmThe China syndrome was a fiction movie. Who is even talking about it? The spent fuel rods have enough energy to melt through their metal casings if not cooled. They never should have been stored on site, I support nuclear energy but we are not out of the woods on this being a huge problem. It will not be a Chernobyl but will be worse than 3 mile.
Report Post »MySacredHonor
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:14pmSorry about the China syndrome comment.. i’m use to dealing with liberals… that’s how they think… but i was not aware the “Spent” rods could sustain a chain reaction, and this generate heat… if they can do that, why were they taken out of the reactor? sorry not a nuclear scientist, so just asking…
Report Post »Nigel2
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:26pmI am just going by what I heard reported on FOX this morning. Don’t know if I am right. Hope I am wrong. But the spent rods will be hot and radioactive for hundreds of years. That is the nature of radiation. They do not require the same level of cooling as active rods, but they are still full of highly poisonous and thermal energy.
Report Post »TJexcite
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:48pmHow long until Fukushima truthers show up
If there is not any out there yet there will be and they will show even before the dead are buried.
Report Post »DianaJoe
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:48pmSorry I meant 24/7
Report Post »Beware of Romans
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:48pmThe Media will continue spreading fear so they can deceptively justify ‘Big Government’ controls and regulations, further limiting America ability to recover. Further proof that Obama and his spin doctors continue their attempts at collapsing the Capitalist system.
Soon Communist Russia and China will make Obama their Global Czar of ‘Deception’ for destroying Capitalism.
Report Post »DianaJoe
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:42pmLook what happened when the “media” reported on the Gulf oil spill. The people along the coast lost millions of dollars and customers even when they tried to convince us that the damage was way overblown. 27/7 news reporting always try to out do the tragic factor.
Report Post »pap pap
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:37pmI think the press is totally trying to scare the s&it out of everybody. I will not get any iodine capsules but a bulgarian scientist said that red wine works better anyway with less risk to the thyroid especially bulgarian wines. (Is he doing a sales pitch ? I don’t know) I always have some red wine around I’m supposed to drink a glass a day.
Report Post »bglaidlaw
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:29pmRed wine — check.
Report Post »LadyIzShy
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:34pmya know I think this is a BAD thing however I am NOT sure it is nearly as bad as the media would have us believe.. watch the other hand..
Report Post »firstlast
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:47pmIts bad enough to send that U.S. aircraft carrier packing
Report Post »docgreen
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:31pmI just heard they’re creating a hot zone at a different Nuclear plant, its just South of the one with Six Nuclear Reactors! Its a New Hot Zone! God Help us! Hey, does anyone know what happens if these plants really do melt down, and radiation spreads across the Pacific? Will it kill the fish, and everything in the seas or what? I would love to know! Is it possible this is what causes the Biblical Plague of the Ocean in Revelation?
Report Post »MySacredHonor
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:57pmNo DOCGREEN all it will mean is we may have some hot reactor vessels… they modern reactor vessels are designed to hold the heat… so the worst that will happen is a slightly elevated lvl of radiation around the containments as they cool down… the fish will be fine…
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:02pmBe more afraid if you hear this
” Hello, I’m from the government and i am here to help you”
Be Afraid , Very Afraid
Report Post »terrytech
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:31pmEven in unimaginably bad scenarios, nuclear energy has less effect on human life and suffering than any other form of power production. More people die on US highways in one year, falling asleep at the wheel of their car than have been affected by radioactive contamination in the last 50 years of nuclear energy production. Cancer risk and health issues are neither the problem in Japan nor the rest of the civilized world.
The larger issue is what will Japan do to create the energy they need. Now that their ability to produce power has been cut by a great fraction, so dramatically, lives are in immediate peril from hypothermia and starvation, not cancer. Japan will have to spend years trying to get an effective alternative in place to serve the basic food, clothing and shelter issues that their infrastructure is now unable to support.
The iron triangle of the modern society is Power Grid, Communications Grid, and Monetary System. Breakage of any of these three legs of the triangle will send any modern society to the dark ages. Deliberately breaking one of our own (vis a vis “rethinking” the use of nuclear energy) is like punching a hole in our own lifeboat to help somebody else stay afloat.
Report Post »hnuh
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:31pmKeep the people scared and you can stampede them in any direction you want to. Global warming, Nukes (that accident is still pretty scary without a bunch of statist anti energy fruitbat leftists on TV sniveling about being interrupted). Commie is commie and when commie speaks lies are being told. So Dr. Goombuajuah Vattavan or whatever your name is, Yawn, stretch and gape, must be time for bed…
Report Post »Pattondog
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:20pmif they are so harmless why not just go grab one with your barehands.
Report Post »Poison is poison, what else do you need to know,
sodizzy
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:45pmWould you pick up a burning log out of a fire with your bare hands? Energy must be respected.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:51pmWould you drink a bottle of bleach? It is a poison. Bone up on nuclear energy physics. This is a multi billion dollar catastrophe, but the human toll is minimal. The tsunami toll in human life is monumental now and climbing, the quake is moderate. Get a grip, then we (us and world) can figure out how best to help the Japanese. They just lost 20% of their electrical power.
help, not hysteria
Report Post »Burrito
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:17pmWow, The Dr. does not play well with others.
Report Post »sodizzy
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:44pmI had a different impression of who was being rude.
Bottom line, there is a huge difference between atomic bombs and radiation plants. The doctor had some very sane points and the other guy just wanted to show that radiation is dangerous and we should all be scared.
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:14pmThe Japanese have done so much to save the planet. He’s right. They’ve given us the Prius. Even now, refugees are still recycling their garbage, and yet Gaia levels them [laughs], just wipes them out. Wipes out their nuclear plants, all kinds of radiation. What kind of payback is this? That is an excellent question. They invented the Prius. In fact, where Gaia blew up is right where they make all these electric cars. That’s where the tsunami hit. All those brand new electric cars sitting there on the lot. I like the way this guy was thinking. It’s like — it’s like Gaia hit the Prius in [inaudible]. It’s like they were in the crosshairs, if we can use that word, it does. What is Gaia trying to tell us here? What is the mother of environmentalism trying to say with this hit? -Rush Limbaugh
Report Post »Glenn Beck: Japan earthquake could be ‘message’ from God to follow the Ten Commandments. Right wingers at their best.
13th Imam
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:29pmYou are soooooo right
Report Post »The way Rush was Spoofing Diane Sawyer at her giddy reporting of the Japanese in the Shelter with separate recycling bins, was funny . Real funny
Tiny280
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:12pmAnti-nuke ‘enviromentalists” always run through the streets screeching about the worst possible scenarios – and some that are not even possible – every time any little thing happens. While the current crisis is not a “little thing”, their doomsday predictions have been 100% wrong since the beginning of time. The useful tools in teh media give these boobs a soapbox because they provide scary headlines. When is the public going to wake up?
It was also interesting to see the “environmentalist” continuously interrupting the moderator and guest with protests of being interrupted….typical leftist…spew some meaningless scary drivel, then shout down anyone who deigns to present a differing opinion.
Report Post »jdog777
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:10pmI got my potassium iodide nevertheless. This is just like the climate change debate… scientists think they are so very right, there is no need or room for a debate. The best thing people can do is be prepared.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:24pmDid you drive to the drug store in your Prius?
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:51pmI live in Konnecticut Somewhat downwind of Three Mile Island.
When was this Potassium Iodide thingy invented?
What Pill did you get to forestall Climate Change?
Report Post »Wilma
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 6:13pmGlenn Beck tells listeners everyday to be prepared and stock up on food. But he considers buying iodine pills if you live on the West Coast over reacting. What’s up with that?
Report Post »Colonial Revolutionary
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 6:38pmJdog777
KI (Potassium Iodide) is not a magic pill and can cause serious health effects if eaten like candy. Get a respirator with a P-100 cartridge if you are paranoid. You won’t need either KI or a respirator unless you plan to tour the containment building in Japan.
Fool.
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 11:44pmI got IOSAT too, JDog, and this Colonial nutcase doesn’t know anything about radioactive materials.
100% poser with no clue what radioactive fallout of particles with a half-life of at least the age of the universe and more, and the jet stream, is.
Report Post »Phantom2487
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:10pmDUH It’s an over reaction, read up on this stuff, I did took an hour and I de-bunked every news article with that info. They say the rods were exposed, yea, inside the primary container, they aren’t open to the atmosphere, which would be way worse.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:14pmThe press hasn’t talked this much about “exposed rods” since Pee Wee Herman got arrested.
Report Post »Phantom2487
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:19pmJust replying to myself for the sake of failing. As educated as the Dr was, he clearly couldn’t comprehend the point that everyone has left the area — or has been told to. I don’t understand his persistence at driving home –> his <– opinion that this is a major disaster. There are far many other things in Japan that need attention now, this one is just a waiting game.
Report Post »Mhockey1505
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:09pmI like this guy…
Report Post »SND97
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:09pmI am a simple minded person
Coffee…GOOD
Radiation…BAD
Basketball…GOOD
Radiation…BAD
Etc..Now repeat after me
Radiation…BAD Radiation…BAD Radiation…BAD Radiation…BAD Radiation…BAD
Report Post »TRVTH
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:19pmObama fool, SND97 Fool
Radiation is not bad, we are surrounded by radiation all day long, without radiation, we would freeze to death.
Without radiation we would not have cat scans or x rays.
Nuclear power is still the safest form of power, the system despite a 9.1 earthquake is working, the containment is still standing, and the more time passes the less likely any doomsday scenario will happen. More people have died by more than 6 times in WINDFARMS than Nuke plants, since wind farms became popular.
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:19pmNormal Radiation = Heat = Good
Ionizing Radiation = Bad Bad BAD BAD
Report Post »Tiny280
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:23pmSimple-minded indeed. (Well, you offered ;-)…)
Fact is that we are bathed in a constant stream of various types of radiaiton all day every day; some natural, some anthropogenic, and some lifestyle related. Radiation levels, type, concentration and duration are the question.
Enviro-whackos have been screaming about the additional cancer risks of various types of radiation for at least the last five decades, but our life expectancy just keeps on climbing, and climbing quite dramatically when controlling for increasig rates of obesity and diabetes.
How many times over how many decades must the enviro-whackos be proven wrong before your “simple mind” will come to the simple conclusion that they are almost always wrong – or masking their true mortives.
Report Post »teachermitch32
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:28pmGOLF= BAD….especially during any crisis….Japanese crisis, petition tearing crisis, financial crisis, middle east crisis, etc.
Report Post »Beware of Romans
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:49pmThe ONLY thing I agree with on your posting is the fact that you are simple minded.
Yet another brainwashed socialist sheep.
Report Post »firstlast
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:13pmSeriously? Radiation is BAD. We are protected from it by the ozone layer, which is why we have increased cases of skin cancer where the ozone is thinning (yes, due to human-related causes). This is not speculation, this is scientific fact. Thats why we get BURNED by the sun’s rays; they are damaging. I have a limited education, but i have a bachelors degree in environmental science and never heard anyone refute that radiation is damaging to living cells and DNA.
Report Post »firstlast
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:18pmROMANS, if I believe radiation is bad for my health, I am a brainwashed socialist? So if science is flawed to the point of being utter brainwash, how do you know your hypotheses are correct?
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 3:02pmIt’s a simple matter of electromagnetic induction.
Your DNA is a inductor, a coil.
It is also a conductor, a wire.
Electromagnetism, which is the same as radiation, induces current in conductors.
That current damages the spiral structure of DNA and scrambles the data contained in the DNA.
The DNA mutates.
You get all kinds of problems from that, and then the cells start breaking down.
The spin of radioactive particles is the same as the radiation from, say, gamma rays. These spin waves can disorganize the electromagnetic structure of the particles comprising your body, and cause your body to discombobulate (decompose).
Report Post »jimcoyne24
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 3:46pmSND97, please correct me if I’m wrong, but your post IS tongue in cheek, isn’t it?
These other posters apparently think you were totally serious!
Report Post »Colonial Revolutionary
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 6:33pmSinista Mace,
Once again you show your ignorance. Normal radiation and ionizing radiation are the same thing. You are an idiot.
Signed
Report Post »Radiological Engineer with 30 years experience in the nuclear industry
Sinista MACE
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 8:36pmNon-ionizing radiation or non-ionising radiation refers to any type of electromagnetic radiation that does not carry enough energy per quantum to ionize atoms or molecules—that is, to completely remove an electron from an atom or molecule. Instead of producing charged ions when passing through matter, the electromagnetic radiation has sufficient energy only for excitation, the movement of an electron to a higher energy state. Nevertheless, different biological effects are observed for different types of non-ionizing radiation.
So no, they are NOT the same thing. I was speaking in terms of infrared radiation as heat.
“Signed
Radiological Engineer with 30 years experience in the nuclear industry”
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!
AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Lord have mercy…wooo!
Experience? Doing what?
Mopping floors?
AHAHAHAHA!!!
Tell your experience to MEET MY 172 INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT!
HAHAHAA!!
I have HIGHER ABSTRACT THOUGHT!
It trumps your “experience” ANY DAY!
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 8:41pmAt least we KNOW we have a certified GENIUS with “30 years experience in the nuclear industry” here who says that infrared radiation is the same as ionizing radiation, then call us an idiot!
WOOT!
Report Post »LetUsReason
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:08pmDoes anyone REALLY know what’s going on with these power plants? I feel like there are so many conflicting opinions on it.
Report Post »sleazyhippo
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:42pmIt’s not rocket science! But sadly, fewer Americans understand the physics of nuclear power designs in depth than the less than the 1% of citizens who understand our military in depth!
Report Post »chubby
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:21pmI do believe the absolute best explanation of what is happening in the nuclear plants in Japan was given the last couple of days by Glenn Beck.
Report Post »What is wrong with these folks? Can they not see the world is melting down around their ears and that steam being released in Japan is the least of our worries. What about the US bonds that will be sold by Japan, understandably so. The world financial teeter-totter is beginning to go down at a rapid rate.
Colonial Revolutionary
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 6:29pmhttp://nei.org/
The most reliable non biased source for your information.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:08pmNotice the name of the good Dr.’s book? “Carbon Free and Nuclear Free: A Road Map for U.S. Energy Policy”
Report Post »Phantom2487
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:12pmWood makes up more energy in the United States on the energy pie chart, almost doubling the power from wind and solar.. fail!
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:33pmGONZO
Report Post »Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:08pm
Notice the name of the good Dr.’s book? “Carbon Free and Nuclear Free: A Road Map for U.S. Energy Policy”
________________
Exactly , I knew where this was going .
The lib media here in CA is scaring people out on the streets by asking them “ what are you gonna do when the nuclear radiation reaches CA ” it’s the same stupid media that before any rain in CA they gear up all their reporters & sends them out to the streets to ask them “are you prepared for the rain ???”
NickDeringer
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:35pmPlease notice the Doctor’s condescending attitude. Like most pseudo-intellectuals he spends most of his time inside his own mind.
His book must be proposing all those new Kool-Aide powered reactors and cars. Utopia is just 47 trillion dollars away.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:07pmI’m the 13th Imam from the “Don’t Know What the Heck Is Gonna Happen Institute ” All we can really hope for is a Jack Bauer type has placed sensors and our CIA knows where the danger zone is. Problem is the winds. and all sailors know winds shift. God help these Responders.
Report Post »Deb C
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:51pmAll the radioactive “stuff” should be boxed up and given a 1-way ticket to the moon.
Report Post »jimcoyne24
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 3:51pmBut DebC, what if there’s an accident on liftoff, all that radioactive stuff spread into the atmosphere, better to keep it underground until it bleeds off all its half-lifes.
Report Post »GONESURFING
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 6:25pmDEBC, the sun would be much better, but JIM rightly points out the liftoff danger. Very dangerous, this nuclear stuff.
Report Post »Nigel2
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:07pmThe way I just heard it reported is, it is some spent fuel rods stored at reactor 3 and 4 that represent the threat. These rods lack the necessary containment that the active rods have around them. Even though they are spent, they are still very poisonous and have no containment if the water evaporates around them.
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:23pmMedia 24/7 Radiation reports is psychological warfare.
Report Post »Deb C
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:24pmTrust no one but yourself
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:26pmactually your wrong.the water is for cooling only, and the containment is not damaged as of yet
the chances the containment vessel fails is very low
Report Post »MySacredHonor
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:26pmfirst off, Nigel2 the spent rods are not HOT… they are just stored near the active reactor. so unless they get “blown across the parking lot” or some such… they are not really an issue
The danger is from the cores, and the cores are overheating, BUT… the containment vessels are specifically designed to hold up under just that level of heat.
The so called “China Syndrome” is even more of a myth than “human caused global warming”… because in this case… it CANT HAPPEN!!!! Its not even REMOTELY POSSIBLE! its a total Hollywood and environmental nut-job created ghost story…
Is the situation dangerous… YES… is it the kind of cataclysm the press is trying to make it into… Probably not… Remember deaths from 3 mile island = 0.0 Deaths from Chernobyl = 6(i think) and 100 cases of leukemia… of those 990 some were cured.
This stuff is way over blown… nuclear power as we do it today is far and away the safest form of energy out there…
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:27pm“998 people did contract leukemia following Chernobyl, and were later cured”….Oh, how very special Doc…Just that simple, huh? So simple indeed…YOU go catch leukemia and go through treatment and let’s see if you will simply speak of it as a necessary inconvenience in your life! Catching any form of cancer doesn’t just effect your body, it effects your family, your ability to work, on and on and on…AND… treatment ALWAYS has LONG-TERM EFFECTS! Get these people off the air! They are either ignorant or definitely have some kind of warped agenda!
pajamash
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:30pmWas that Weiner in make up? They act very similar.
Report Post »Klarky
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:31pmWhen all is said and done, the nay sayers will look back at this event and realize that today’s Nuclear Safe Guards are adequate enough to PREVENT a nuclear catastrophe involving damage to multiple reactors caused by an 8.9 earthquake and a once in a 100 year Tsunami.
Report Post »Libertarian
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:32pmNotice the guy creating the fear is the president of the energy and environmental research institute. He is an environmentalist and author of “Carbon-free and nuclear-free; A roadmap for US energy policy”.
Clear agenda.
Report Post »REDPILLREADY
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:35pmTitle on FOX for Dr. Arjun Makhijani was “Environmentalist” and the author of “Carbon free, Nuclear free”. Before he opened his mouth I sized him up as a scare-mongering globalista set on terrorizing people into adopting high cost green energy with the primary aim of undermining the US economy. His rude expressions and typical elitist tendency to bristle and become indignant with factual counter arguments did nothing to convince me otherwise.
Report Post »MySacredHonor
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:38pmok, my bad.. i stand corrected.. 50 died…
how many have died in oil fires, tanker wrecks, coal mine cave ins, and other non-nuclear power generation related accidents? 10,000? 50,000? 100,000? maybe more…
Report Post »we’ve lost aprox. 50 in 50+ years of nuclear power generation. seems pretty safe to me… now if you add in “maybes” and “what if’s” sure you can make nuclear power look bad.. but i’m talking existing factual numbers…
sleazyhippo
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:39pmThis is not exactly rocket science!
Report Post »Klarky
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:40pmMySacredHonor, your comment is FALSE. Spent fuel rods can become a concern, if the pool they sit in becomes empty. The water surrounding the spent fuel rods absorbs most of the energy released from the fuel assemblies. As the water evaporates, the energy (heat/radiation) from the fuel assembly is no-longer absorbed, which can be a concern. However, I agree that the media has a story that will sell and must push it to the limit. Even if it is filled full of misleading information.
Report Post »MySacredHonor
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:51pmto Klarky
OK, so the spent rods are in water too? i was under the impression they were stored in some sort of canisters, and simply stacked near the reactors… if you are correct, then i concede the point, but wouldn’t the danger be only through secondary evaporation?
Report Post »IE the shell of the containment heats up, and that’s the heat that might evaporate the spent rods water..? or is the water they are stored in part of the cooling water cycle?
i’m still unclear on this…
SavingtheRepublic.com
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 1:52pmI dont know so Im just going to ask, at this point why cant they just start pumping concrete into these things and seal them? Surely they have those pump trucks I have seen all over where the boom could extend far enough to start dumping concrete into the reactors. Its clear they cannot stop whats happening with no power and minimal staff meanwhile potentially irradiated steam etc is escaping putting ppl at risk.
Report Post »bullcrapbuster
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:07pmThe Chernobyl reactor was an accident waiting to happen. The operators violated/ignored every rule in the book. That disaster cannot reasonably be compared to anything going on in the Japan situation.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:12pmHey twenty thousand people die in the USA every year from the FLU.
COOL heads, please. I have a jaded eye for someone who write an antinuclear book.
Report Post »AZfreeman
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:16pm“The truth has no agenda” …I’ve heard that somewhere (grin)
There are two sides to every issue and objectivity is sometimes elusive. There could be many reasons a person is against Nuclear energy. If a person lives within a few miles of a power plant, or if they have experienced health problems related to this issue, their perspective may be one sided. If a person is for green wind and solar energy, or if they want to destroy our economy by importing more oil from the Middle East, they might sound off (Hussein?). Motivations are always unknown and suspect.
The question here as I see it, is whether the energy produced by Nuclear power and used daily by millions of people is worth the potential risks of a disaster to relatively few people (comparatively speaking). This is in not meant to downplay the impact on the few, but rather to put the question into perspective only. Nothing in life is without cost. …rf
Report Post »Uncle Crusty
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 2:17pmInteresting conversation, and the good doctor may be right about long term high exposure, but as Jay points out we are not there yet, and I agree, to make wild claims about a possibility as something that will happen is outlandish. I do think more discussion is needed, but look at the airwaves – the debate is a panic fest from the flamethrowing liberal left…let’s all cool down, no pun intended, and talk about this rationally, nobdy wants another Chernoble.
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 3:23pmGot a call from my very libral sister..she says…that damn Glen Beck…telling people not to worry about the nucleur power plants radiation exposure…number one…she doesn’t listen to Glen Beck…she gets her second hand Glen info from NPR…and second…from what I understand unless these reactors turn into bombs…there is not much threat of them…so yes I believe the media is blowing this way out of proportion..listened to MSNBC on this very subject and you would of thought we all will be “melting” away any minute now…talk about scare tactics
Report Post »jimcoyne24
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 3:54pmYeah, that Glenn Beck is just a fear mongerer…that is unless “mainstream” is trying to fear-monger, then he’s just fear monger bashing!
Report Post »BigDadio
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 4:00pmPeople, please look at NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTEs News & Events for the accurate info on this.
Report Post »Mr. Lehr is correct in his analysis. PLEASE look at this info.
rpp
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 4:02pm@MySacredHonor
Normally, I find your posts pretty good. However, you have made some factual errors and assumptions. Assumption 1: Spent fuel rods are less radioactive/dangerous. Not true. They are, in fact, more radioactive, but produce the density of the fissile material is less than is needed to sustain a nuclear chain reaction. They do however generate extremely high amounts of ionizing radiation. They are dangerous to all forms of life for many thousands of year.
Claim: 7 people died and 998 got leukemia and recovered as a result of radiation exposure in the Chernobyl disaster. Incorrect. Here are some links that debate the issue. One fact is clear, 56 people initially died and THOUSANDS have since contracted various cancers, MOST OF WHOM DIED. Some estimates place the the number of Chernobyl induced cancer in the tens or hundreds of thousands. The area around Chernobyl is still uninhabitable nearly 25 years after the accident. Here are links to support these facts. http://www.utne.com/Wild-Green/Chernobyl-Death-Toll-4000-or-1-Million-7272.aspx http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article563041.ece The only site that disputes these well documented facts is a nuclear power advocacy group. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html However, even they decided that Thyroid cancers did not count. Wow.
I enjoy reading your comments and normally find you quite interesting. However, I think this time you missed the mark.
Should we panic? No. Should we keep a weather-eye out? Yes. I would direct people to keep an eye on this website which constantly updates the amount of ionizing radiation detected at various places in the USA. As of this posting, these reading only represent naturally occurring background radiation. http://www.blackcatsystems.com/RadMap/map.html Number above 50-75 would begin to be cause for more diligent attention.
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 4:05pmAZfreeman:
“The truth has no agenda” …
There are two sides to every issue and objectivity is sometimes elusive.
The question here as I see it, is whether the energy produced by Nuclear power and used daily by millions of people is worth the potential risks of a disaster to relatively few people (comparatively speaking). This not meant to downplay the impact on the few, but rather to put the question into perspective only. Nothing in life is without cost. …”
________________
Well put! Thanks…
Estimated nuclear fuel and fission by-products released into the atmosphere during Chernobyl disaster: 25 to 57 metric tons
Approximate amount of nuclear fuel in each crippled Fukushima Daiichi reactor: 70 to 100 metric tons
Report Post »SteveSD
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 4:19pmI made a detailed post in Stu’s blog on this, but let me repeat it here. I live near the San Onofre nuclear reactor in California. I started out in college as a Physicist, I toured the reactor as a youth, and as a result of all of this, I have made a point of learning as much as I could about water-cooled reactors.
First, spent fuel rods are most definitely hot, both thermally and radiologically. Their life starts the moment they are removed from the reactor, still steaming, and are placed in a 40-foot deep spent-rod containment pool containing ultra-pure water. They emit heat as the U-235, U-238, Plutonium, and other fissionable reaction byproducts decay. They remain exothermic for up to six years, that’s why the pool absolutely must be cooled.
If the pool water is not cooled, it will eventually boil. If the water level is sufficiently reduced, it will uncover the spent fuel rods, and the zirconium cladding on the rods will start to oxidize at a high rate, producing hydrogen. Eventually, if left unchecked, a runaway inferno can be created that is several thousand degrees hot. This will first melt, then vaporize, and finally eject highly radioactive and noxious fission components into the atmosphere, the most malicious of which is radioactive Cesium, which can be carried on winds for hundreds of miles.
The problem at Fukushima has never been the reactors, in my opinion, it’s been the spent fuel rod pools, and no, they are not in a containment facility. They are stored, in seven ponds, at the top of the reactors, and the only thing between them and open air is the outer containment housing. You remember that — it’s what blew off in a huge hydrogen explosion last week.
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 4:33pmNRC: No Water In Spent Fuel Pool Of Japan Plant
The chief of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools at Japan’s most troubled nuclear plant, but Japanese officials denied it.
If NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is correct, this would mean there’s nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down. The outer shell of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area.
Jaczko did not say Wednesday how the information was obtained, but the NRC and U.S. Department of Energy both have experts on site at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex of six reactors. He said the spent fuel pool of the complex’s Unit 4 reactor has lost water.
Jaczko said officials believe radiation levels are extremely high, and that could affect workers’ ability to stop temperatures from escalating.
Japan’s nuclear safety agency and Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the complex, deny water is gone from the pool. Utility spokesman Hajime Motojuku said the “condition is stable” at Unit 4.
I support and encourage further use of nuclear power but the industry must be forthright in telling the public that all engineering projects carry risks, including nuclear power. As proven in Japan, even triple redundant systems can and will fail – all that is needed is a failure mode that is correlated with all three safety systems! Fears, if uninformed, are justified. Three separate events causing core meltdowns in 32 years is hardly a reassuring track record for the public! Public trust is like respect – it is earned, not bought with patronizing “nuclear energy is safe”…
Report Post »Greeny
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 4:34pm@MySacredHonor- One thing to add to your post, the Chernobyl per capita lukemia and birth defect rates are not abnormally high. we have higher rates of both here in the US.
Report Post »Uncle Crusty
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 4:43pmrpp, you are wrong – 50 people died of exposure initially, hundreds of children died from drinking contaminated milk – a govt failure. No one else has died so far, so you cliams, and that of your links that thousands have died is a lie. Wake up!
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 4:43pm@SteveSD:
“I made a detailed post in Stu’s blog on this, but let me repeat it here. I live near the San Onofre nuclear reactor in California. I started out in college as a Physicist, I toured the reactor as a youth, and as a result of all of this, I have made a point of learning as much as I could about water-cooled reactors.
First, spent fuel rods are most definitely hot, both thermally and radiologically. ..”
Report Post »__________________
Thank you so much for your post…we need your knowledge here at the Blaze! It is invaluable! I posted just below yours but had not gotten to the argument about the spent rods…I certainly do not have credentials like yours and I probably know just enough to be dangerous!!!!!!!!! Thanks again!
GONESURFING
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 5:24pmGreat posts, and lots of good information here. I am getting much more informed thanks to your posts.
Someone said that this is not rocket science ? It is nuclear science.
As a conservative I have always gone against the grain by not supporting nuclear power, always skeptical of the “nuclear power is safe” argument, and this disaster is why, not to mention past disasters. Then there is the issue of nuclear waste. I think it is in Micah in the Bible where God says he will destroy those who destroy the earth. Leaving vast areas unlivable because of a nuclear disaster is not being a good steward of this earth that God has given us charge of.
Really hope and pray that they can get this under control, but it is looking increasingly dangerous.
Report Post »Colonial Revolutionary
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 6:22pm@MySacredHonor
You have no idea what you are talking about. The rods in the pool are most definately hot in both senses “radioactive” and “decay heat”. The problem most definately lies in U-4 which was defueled and the rods are in the pool with no containment vessel surrounding them. If the water level in the pools evaporates and uncovers the spent fuel rods they pose an immeadiate danger to life “radiation” and a possible melt down “decay heat”.
The containment vessel is one of the primary barriers to mitigate an accident.
Signed
Report Post »Radiological Engineer with 30 years experience in the nuclear industry.
SteveSD
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 6:53pmI realize that having previously posted my description regarding spent fuel rods, I should also comment about my position on Nuclear Energy. I’m 100% for it. Knowledge is power, and information is crucial in making informed decisions. The reactor design at Fukushima is 40 years old. Using current reactor technology, especially micro-reactor technology, what’s happening in Japan could never occur.
We need to resist the temptation to descend into a panic-driven, information-starved knee-jerk reaction that would destroy an industry that has, up to now, an acceptable, even enviable safety record.
But I mean… can we talk about drilling for Natural Gas as well?
Report Post »TulsaYeeHaw
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 8:53pmColonial Revolutionary
Could you enlighten me on convection cooling of reactors? Or is that even real?
Report Post »watchmany2k
Posted on March 16, 2011 at 11:54pmIf you want to attempt to understand the fission products of the reactor this will get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fission_product
For introduction of radionuclides into organisms,(people) INGESTION is the most important route. Insoluble compounds are not absorbed from the gut and cause only local irradiation before they are excreted.
As they decay they emit Beta and Gamma waves
Beta particles are relatively non-penetrating, external exposure to them causes only localized damage, e.g. radiation burns to the skin.
Gamma rays and neutrons are more penetrating, causing diffuse damage throughout the body (e.g. radiation sickness), increasing incidence of cancer rather than burns.
External radiation exposure should also be distinguished from internal exposure, due to ingested or inhaled radioactive substances, which, depending on the substance’s chemical nature, can produce both diffuse and localized internal damage.
RE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_decay <–NOTE the risk assessment at the bottom
And to KNOW BS & HYPE from FACT:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster
What is going on in Japan is NOT Chernobyl
It's bad, but if they can keep the core(S) semi intact and cooled, they can possibly avoid the
wide spread of particles.
The explosions of the pressure containment, is a direct result of backup generators not coming
online to pump coolant. It really is not as bad as it looks from the video. Yes, it can make the land around there difficult to use for 30-60 +/- years , but it CAN be used. As TIME goes by the emmissions of any products released becomes less of a threat, especially if they scrape the topsoils and BURY it far away. The Tsunami already made some of that work a bit more practical.
We will know if a few days or coming weeks if the seawater cooling is working and the Decay Heat MW(thermal) will lessen.
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