[meteorite-list] Not to worry. Nukes are good.

From: John Hendry <pict_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:39:48 -0700
Message-ID: <C9A087D7.F866%pict_at_pict.co.uk>

Count,

I'm sure it would help the peace of mind of the great unwashed and
medieval thinking people like myself if the liberal and antiliberal press
alike would do their job, ask the right questions to the right people, and
explain a few basic facts. I am presuming the reactor's pneumatically or
hydraulically operated control rods were deployed to stop fission in the
immediate aftermath of the quake. I have seen no news report confirming
this or even mentioning it. I am also presuming the attempts to maintain
cooling are to remove residual heat from the fuel. I have seen no news
report confirming this or even mentioning it. I am presuming the large
explosion I just watched on Fox at Fukushima No.1 was the water coolant
system giving way due to excessive pressure, which has me now speculating
that they lost relief valve control (flat battery?). These pictures are
running in conjunction with the commentary reporting that Japan's Nuclear
Safety Commission are saying that it may be experiencing a meltdown. So
all my peasant level analysis leads me to speculate that that the core is
hot, intact, with no fission reaction and is cooling slowly. Meanwhile the
redundancy in the cooling system has appeared to have failed to save its
plumbing from getting blown to bits by residual reactor heat. This appears
at odds to what their safety commission is telling the world so I have to
suspect my pathetic attempts to understand the events are in error.

I just feel so very sad for the people in Japan. I cannot possibly fathom
from the information given by press and government institutions alike what
the true story is. And I would resist the notion, perhaps naively, that it
is due to apathy regarding trying to understand the science. I personally
think and hope that things will be just fine regarding any fuel
contamination (only low level from coolant dispersal - assuming no fuel
contamination) but I am not reassured by any listening, thinking, or
reading I have done. What do I know?... anything can go pear shaped. I've
worked in the Ukraine, I've seen first hand the melted carcass of Piper
Alpha. I agree with much of what you allude to My Lord, but I am not
enamoured of the tone in parts. The best laid plans of mice and men gang
aft aglae, and leave us nought but grief and pain for promised joy. Bad
things happen and dismissiveness of slim probabilities breeds complacency
and trivialises disaster when it inevitably comes. The handling and
containment of nuclear materials is serious stuff and warrants due respect
and consideration to the risk and reward of such endeavour, as does all
our other major sources of energy production. People shouldn't have to
break mental sweat to do research. They pay good money to government and
media organisations from the labours of their own expertise, and deserve
to be informed in accurate, unbiased and understandable terms. I don't
think the notion that this doesn't happen very well should lead to the
assumption that the lay electorate are peasants ill deserving of a hand on
their own destiny.

Regards,
John


On 11/03/2011 21:48, "Count Deiro" <countdeiro at earthlink.net> wrote:

>Not to worry Mike, Dirk and Listers,
>
>The GE designed reactors (1960) at Fukushima/Daiichi have triple on site
>redundancy in cooling and containment and the possibility of an
>uncontrolled environmentally harmful release of radioactive (in this case
>steam) is negligible.
>
>It's all in the numbers. When the media reports that core pressures are
>such and such above normal and that the radioactivity that might be
>released is " thousand of times above normal", they fail to tell you that
>"normal" is such a low level of emission as to mean nothing to humans, or
>the environment.
>
>This same kind of irresponsible reporting created the infamous, an
>unnecessary, panic at "Three Mile Island" where the total tritium release
>equated to a couple of X-rays, or a trip across the USA on an airliner.
>
>My point is, that If you demonstrated to the typical uneducated man in
>the street that a bit of Trinitite was giving off 1000 times the
>background (normal) radiation level, he'd panic. I've proved this by
>putting a contamination meter on Trinitite samples with the sensitivity
>set to high and watching my victim's reaction as it loudly goes off scale.
>
>When I served on Nevada's Nuclear Waste Study Committee and was the
>entertainment on the Chamber of Commerce and Lion's Club rubber chicken
>circuit, I used to place a common household smoke detector (They contain
>an Americium emitter) under some hapless audience member's chair and
>then, much to his discomfort, using a meter to locate him.
>
>The great unwashed have more fears than medieval peasants, yet they
>refuse to expend the mental sweat to learn the science. Ask them to
>listen to more than two sentences describing fission and their eyes glaze
>over. Yet their votes decide the future of energy production, or better
>said..the lack of it....in my country.
>
>Regards and stay calm.
>
>Count Deiro
>IMCA 3536
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
>>Sent: Mar 11, 2011 6:32 PM
>>To: Count Deiro <countdeiro at earthlink.net>
>>Cc: drtanuki <drtanuki at yahoo.com>, meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] 8.9 Quake in Japan, 10 meter Tsunami, Hope
>>Dirk and others are ok
>>
>>Hi Count and List,
>>
>>I pray you are correct Count! The situation at Fukashima is getting
>>worse and they are trying to open the valve to release pressure - a
>>bad sign itself. And now they are having problems getting the valve
>>to work. :(
>>
>>Best regards,
>>
>>MikeG
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
>>
>>Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com
>>Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
>>News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516
>>Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone
>>EOM - http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/collection.aspx?id=1564
>>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>On 3/11/11, Count Deiro <countdeiro at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>> There are two chances that any reactor built in a developed country
>>>will do
>>> a Chernobyl.
>>>
>>> Slim and None.
>>>
>>> The liberal media loves to run with this stuff to increase viewership.
>>> Politicians demagogue everything nuclear to get re-elected. The result
>>>is an
>>> electorate with more unfounded fears than a mob of medival peasants.
>>>
>>> Count Deiro
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
>>>>Sent: Mar 11, 2011 8:05 AM
>>>>To: drtanuki <drtanuki at yahoo.com>
>>>>Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>>Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] 8.9 Quake in Japan, 10 meter Tsunami,
>>>>Hope
>>>> Dirk and others are ok
>>>>
>>>>Stay safe Dirk! I hope you are nowhere near the Fukashima (sp?)
>>>>nuclear power plant. I heard they cannot cool the reactor and they
>>>>are evacuating the facility. It could be another 3-mile Island or
>>>>Chernobyl.
>>>>
>>>>My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the quake zone.
>>>>
>>>>Best regards,
>>>>
>>>>MikeG
>>>>
>>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
>>>>
>>>>Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com
>>>>Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
>>>>News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516
>>>>Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone
>>>>EOM - http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/collection.aspx?id=1564
>>>>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>On 3/11/11, drtanuki <drtanuki at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>>> We are having another big rupture as I type.... under the table.
>>>>> Dirk...Tokyo
>>>>>
>>>>> --- On Sat, 3/12/11, Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> From: Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net>
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] 8.9 Quake in Japan, 10 meter Tsunami,
>>>>>>Hope
>>>>>> Dirk and others are ok
>>>>>> To: "Meteorite-list" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>>>>>> Date: Saturday, March 12, 2011, 12:16 AM
>>>>>> Here's a live English news feed on Al
>>>>>> Jazeera:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
>>>>>>
>>>>>> and the NHK:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/6810.htm
>>>>>> ______________________________________________
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>>>>>>
>>>>> ______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>--
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>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>--
>
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Received on Sat 12 Mar 2011 06:39:48 AM PST