Green Peace....I am thinking

Just abit emotional today..with all the F things that are going on in North Asia.

Really such times, the mission for these guys seems more relevant than ever.

Though I have no influence and intelligence to build nuclear power plants....I do hope the guys involved start thinking of the contingency eg....a simple STOP button to bloody shut down the whole plant and some bloody chemical to neutralize the radiactive stuff.

DAMM !!!!!!!!


To the guy above ...pls have mercy to all....

While I agree that what is going on in N Asia right now is downright awful, I am not sure if Greenpeace has the answer (aside from banning nuclear as an energy source) as I highly doubt they have a sound contingency plan in place for such a disaster.

As a watchdog/activist group they tend to look at broad based issues and protest/etc, when there are situations that surface (like in Japan). I know as I volunteered for them and for the most part they are a pretty good group.

Also as a person who studied environmental economics and policy at UC Berkeley I am aware of some of the pitfalls of an energy source like Nuclear. While I am not a nuclear engineer and don't know all of the potential outcomes that are possible from the situation that has developed in Japan, I am sure they have the best people trying to figure out what to do and I hope they do figure it out fast.

It was an unbelievably unfortunate and cruel natural disaster coupled with unforeseen consequences that has helped create this problem they are experiencing right now.

My problem is not with Nuclear energy but with the lack of a sound contingency plan in a "worst case scenario" like what we are witnessing there. This should be a clear warning to many people that it might be time to rethink some strategies in areas of the world that are prone to these types of tragedies and natural disasters.

I too am praying for everyone over there. Watching the updates on the news is very, very sad and heart wrenching.

haha..bro, the fukushima nuclear plant has automated shutdown if earthquake strikes.. and the cooling system shld take over to cool the reactor.. however the diesel generator that was working for the first hour to keep the cooling system running was being flooded by the tsunami so in the end the core still hot till now..

here an extract from MIT nuclear information hub http://mitnse.com/

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When the earthquake hit, the nuclear reactors all automatically shutdown. Within seconds after the earthquake started, the control rods had been inserted into the core and the nuclear chain reaction stopped. At this point, the cooling system has to carry away the residual heat, about 7% of the full power heat load under normal operating conditions.

The earthquake destroyed the external power supply of the nuclear reactor. This is a challenging accident for a nuclear power plant, and is referred to as a “loss of offsite power.” The reactor and its backup systems are designed to handle this type of accident by including backup power systems to keep the coolant pumps working. Furthermore, since the power plant had been shut down, it cannot produce any electricity by itself.

For the first hour, the first set of multiple emergency diesel power generators started and provided the electricity that was needed. However, when the tsunami arrived (a very rare and larger than anticipated tsunami) it flooded the diesel generators, causing them to fail.

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I am well aware that a contingency for the earthquake part existed, and I am sure that most places have contingencies in place for catastrophic events.

But as evidenced by this, and New Orleans (Katrina), and with some research I am sure I can find several other examples...the disasters don't always occur according to plan or magnitude. Maybe it is time to look outside the box at other possible scenarios that could occur, possibly even concurrently, to help prevent further disasters in areas that are already reeling from the event.

Hi Dan, sorry my post was referring to duval post.. didnt know that u posted just before me
apologies

@guy...no worries my friend.

I am sure IAEA are monitoring and advising japan as well. If the smartest atomic scientists can't do a thing about it, then i guess is is fated.