GE defends reactors in Japan nuclear crisis

[jpak]

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2011/0318/GE-defends-reactors-in-Japan-nuclear-crisis

<snip>

Mark 1 design scrutinized

The Japan nuclear crisis has brought scrutiny on GE for its Mark I design, which was criticized in the 1970s as susceptible to explosion and rupture. Three GE employees quit in 1975 in protest over safety concerns around the Mark 1 and US regulators even considered discontinuing the system

The world's biggest nuclear-equipment supplier, however, has maintained that its containment vessel design is reliable in the face of reports this week of possible design weaknesses.

"We’d like to set the record straight," GE said in a statement Friday. "The Mark I meets all regulatory requirements and has performed well for over 40 years."

GE points to a statement in 1980 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which advised that it had given careful consideration to concerns raised in a 1972 memorandum by Stephen Hanauer, an Atomic Energy Commission official, who said that the Mark I's smaller containment design was more susceptible to explosion. The NRC found that the commission's "staff, including Dr. Hanauer, has concluded that the pressure suppression concept for containment design is safe.”

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[Tx4obama]

1. A nuclear plant that can F' up even once in 40 years is NOT good enough! n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Clockwork?

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Four words: strict products liability lawsuit.

Two words: class action

[doc03]

4. I have heard reports that the earthquake was 10 times

stronger than the reactor was designed for. If that is true how could it be GE's fault, they built it according to the customer specifications. Here it is the reactor was designed and tested by TEPCO for a 7.9 earthquake: http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/13/6256121-general-electric-designed-reactors-in-fukushima-have-23-sisters-in-us

[no_hypocrisy]

5. The earthquake didn't do the damage. It was the tsunami and the water "drowning" the plant

and shutting down the power.

[doc03]

6. Was it designed for a tsunami of that magnitude and

were the backup pumps and generators properly maintained and tested by TEPCO? We had a power failure were I worked and our backup diesel wouldn't run because of a faulty temperature sensor. On down turns the production department was always in a big hurry to get back on line and 4 times out of 5 we were never given the chance to test run it. Then after the power failure and the furnace nearly melted down the production department wanted our heads in the utilities department because the pump wouldn't run. I don't think all the facts are all in yet and sometimes the facts we hear from the the corporate world are far from the truth. CYA