Georgia Tech Nuclear expert: Japan's nuclear plant doesn't sound dire

[FBaggins]

Farzad Rahnema, a Georgia Tech professor of nuclear engineering, had been reading stories that hinted at the possibility of a meltdown at the plant, which was shaken by the massive earthquake there. But he said the details he'd gleaned from those accounts, and from industry reports, suggested that a meltdown was unlikely.

...snip...

"I don't think this thing is anywhere close to that," said Rahnema, who studies reactor safety. He added a caveat -- his opinion was based on "sketchy" details. But he said the fact that plant officials hadn't deemed it necessary to activate an emergency cooling system was reassuring.


...snip...

Despite a loss of power to the plant's primary cooling system, it appeared officials were able to obtain backup power, he said, basing that opinion on a terse statement issued by the Tokyo Electric Power Company at about 4 p.m. Friday Atlanta time. It said the water level necessary to cool the reactor fuel had been "maintained." That wouldn't have been possible without backup power, Rahnema said. "If the water level in the reactor is maintained," he said, "that's good news."

Even if the reactor core were to melt down, Rahnema said it probably would not produce the dire consequences seen in Chernobyl. That plant had few of the safety features required in Japan. Even if the Fukushima reactor were to melt the central pressure vessel that contains it, he said, the radioactive fuel would still be held within a concrete containment, something he said was lacking in the Chernobyl design.


http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-tech-nuclear-expert-869322.html

[NNadir]

1. Um, what would he know? I mean, he's only, um, a professor of um,

nuclear engineering.

It's not like he's a blogger who posts diagrams of nuclear power plants that are um, actually, links to video games.

[FBaggins]

3. You need to cut him some slack.

He's been comparatively level-headed tonight.

So he posted a bad link. It isn't like it was porn or anything.

[NNadir]

4. Comparatvely?

Compared to what?

I personally feel he posts porn all the time, but that's just my opinion.

[FBaggins]

5. Compared to both an average day...

...and particularly when compared to where you would EXPECT a rabid anti-nuke to be given current events. There's blood in the water baby!

I haven't seen a single SpamPaste, nor even a reply that was unrelated to the actual post he replied to.

[NNadir]

7. Well, when you put it that way...

...um...um...um...

It could be that the sun's down and his solar powered computer isn't operating though, couldn't it?

[FBaggins]

8. Ouch.

Now that's not playing nice.

But funny.

[NNadir]

9. Are you claiming I'm not nice?

Well, OK then, I guess you have a point.

It would seem that the solar panels in Maine are hooked up to batteries though.

[Solly Mack]

2. K&R

[Ian David]

6. I kind of figured this whole reactor thing was only so Captain Ramius could defect. n/t