[LINK] Nuclear power stations.

[Chris Maltby]

> On 2011/Mar/19, at 12:46 PM, Chris Maltby wrote:
>> Diesel backups don't always work under the sorts of loads that a real
>> emergency generates, and then there is the issue of keeping sufficient
>> fuel supply to run them until the need is gone which may be a week or
>> more.

On Sat, Mar 19, 2011 at 03:05:28PM +1100, Kim Holburn wrote:
> You only need to keep the system up until you can shut the reactors down.

Yes, but that can be quite a while. These reactors were all shut down by
having control rods inserted, but the short half-life fission products in
the fuel rods continue to decay and produce lots of heat for quite a while
after the uranium/plutonium chain reaction is stopped. The spent fuel rod
ponds have to be kept topped up with coolant too - ie, they generate lots
of heat from the continuing fission of products of the main reaction.

> > I doubt if we will ever completely understand the sequence of events
> > that led to this being a very serious incident...

> I don't believe that but if it were true, we shouldn't be using nuclear fission at all.

I meant us, as in the great unwashed... and yes, we should be very careful
about nuclear fission - the risks will always be more than the proponents
will admit too.

Chris