[meteorite-list] OT: RISKS OF NUCLEAR POWER

From: Galactic Stone and Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:03:53 -0400
Message-ID: <AANLkTikD5KJoue6gqCjWJ1CgBXbJB434yT0nujRJffSQ_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Gang,

For the record, I am entirely in favor of responsible and safe nuclear
power. With the best and brightest minds in the world, a well-funded
nuclear program should be a safe alternative to fossil fuels. Of
course, the inherent safety problem is the fuel itself. The fuel is
where all the potential negative effects are rooted. So, the nuclear
industry must develop a "safe" fuel or it must develop a fool-proof,
tamper-proof, and disaster-proof fuel. The thing to keep in mind, is
that no other major fuel source is fool-proof or disaster proof. This
makes the definition of "safe" a relative affair when it comes to
nuclear fuel. In no other industry do we see the potential for a
run-away, positive-feedback, catastrophic failure loop that can lead
to such widespread effects.

Now we have tons of nuclear fuel that is potentially exposed to the
open air with compromised containment. And that is something that I
think the majority of lay-people misunderstand about large nuclear
reactors (I know I did) - the sheer volume of fuel that is involved.
This is no small amount of material we are talking about. It is many
tons of highly-radioactive material that is a technogenic nightmare -
the likes of which mother nature does not create on this planet
without our cooperation.

Watching the Fukushima event unfold fills me with a mixture of
fascination and dread. Right now, as we sit safely in the distance,
we are calmly discussing the details of nuclear power, while Japanese
workers are suffering dangerous levels of radiation to mitigate the
disaster. There is probably some brave man operating a water cannon,
trying to cool off a hot pile of corium, and he is getting a full dose
of radiation the likes of which that most people will never
experience.

On a curious note - corium is bizarre stuff. On the link below,
scroll down to the mid-way point of the photo gallery, and you'll see
several photos of the "elephant's foot" at Chernobyl. Scroll further
down, and you'll see color photos of the same, which show the
yellowish material "growing" on the surface of the corium. Some of
this yellow material is new minerals that don't have names yet.

http://insp.pnl.gov/-library-uk_ch_1-1.htm

Best regards,

MikeG


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites

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On 3/17/11, Thunder Stone <stanleygregr at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I wonder how many people have died from solar, wind, and hydroelectric
> power?
>
> You forget the long term impact of radiation exposure.
>
> Don't get me wrong, Nuclear power is good when safety precautions are in
> place, but we seem to wait for disasters and then respond to them.
>
> I have been an advocate for 'green' energy since the 1970's, but here in the
> US, it always gets killed and underfunded.
>
> Now let's get back to discussing meteorites.
>
>
> Greg S.
>
> ----------------------------------------
>> From: sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net
>> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:38:58 -0500
>> Subject: [meteorite-list] OT: RISKS OF NUCLEAR POWER
>>
>> List,
>>
>> We are invariably abnormally impressed by the
>> sudden occurrence of a rare, high-risk event.
>> We do not appraise them in a strictly rational
>> manner when this happens.
>>
>> The current application of fear caused by a very
>> rare event, as we see in Japan, is weighted heavily.
>> For those interested in the actual data, the human
>> cost, in lives, of the various means of electric power
>> production are listed below.
>>
>> Deaths are for the period 1970 through 1992, the
>> only period for which data could be collected for all
>> the means of production.
>>
>> All deaths are "immediate" deaths, and the figures
>> are on a worldwide basis, which includes countries
>> with less stringent industrial safety requirements
>> than the U.S. This is the picture for the Planet.
>>
>> Hydroelectric production accounted for roughly 4000
>> deaths, of members of the public, or 883 deaths per
>> terawatt-year. The vast majority of those deaths were
>> from the failure of dams and impoundments.
>>
>> Coal power production produced about 6400 deaths,
>> all of workers, for a death rate of 342 deaths per
>> terawatt-year. (Deaths from the mining of coal are
>> included in proportion to the use of coal in direct
>> power production.)
>>
>> Natural Gas power production resulted in some
>> 1200 deaths, of both industry workers and the
>> general public, for 85 deaths per terawatt-year.
>>
>> Nuclear Power resulted in 31 deaths, all of workers,
>> for a total of 8 deaths per terawatt-year, or 1%
>> of the deaths from "safe" environmentally friendly
>> hydroelectric power.
>>
>> The "other fuel," petroleum, is rarely used for power
>> production but largely for transportation. How deadly,
>> in these terms, is our transportation power use in
>> cars and trucks as compared to the cost in life of
>> power production?
>>
>> The U.S. consumed 0.138 teragallons of gasoline
>> on 2009 (at 4.175 watt-years per gallon), with a
>> total energy content of a "mere" 0.576 terawatt-years.
>> Highway deaths in 2009 were 33,963, which yields
>> 58,943 deaths per terawatt-year of power consumed.
>>
>> Clearly, the use of this power source for transport
>> is many orders of magnitude more dangerous than
>> the production of electrical power, however it is
>> accomplished. Our reaction to this horrendous
>> risk is to complain about how much it costs us to
>> fill'er up.
>>
>> Humans are not rational animals.
>>
>> The reduction in overall life expectancy in the
>> U.S. due to nuclear power production is one-third
>> of the reduction in life expectancy caused by eating
>> 8 ounces. of charcoal-broiled steak per week.
>>
>> Make mine medium-rare, please.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sterling K. Webb
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
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--

Received on Thu 17 Mar 2011 12:03:53 PM PDT