Last updated on March 1, 2013
At time of writing we are watching news footage of the explosion at the Fukushima I nuclear power plant.
From the looks of it, it is the northernmost building affected by the explosion, and without doubt the containment building has been been seriously damaged.
So this is it: the ultimate trial by fire. Either the containment structure within the building and the reactor has withstood the explosion, in which case this once and for all vindicates the claim that lightwater reactors cannot harm human beings, even in cases of extreme emergencies.
Alternatively, if the contaimment structure has failed and the reactor tank has ruptured… then we were wrong. Then we have to rethink the way we look at nuclear power and say no to pressurized lightwater reactors.
We are holding our breaths waiting for the result.
Looking at the big picture…
One thing needs to be concidered here and that is the big picture: 1200 to 1600 people are reported dead in the tsunami. Oil refiners are ablaze… infrastructure and roads have been destroyed… tens of thousands of people have been injured, had their homes and lives seriously upturned.
But around Fukushima I, the area is and is being further evacuated. No matter what happens there – even if it is the worst of all possible scenarios – we are looking at mainly economic damage. The safety measures have protected that which matters the most: the people. In that aspect, the safety measures worked because they protected the people.
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Kul att höra att “alla säkerhetssystem fungerade som beräknat”. 😉
“Pumpa in havsvatten i reaktorbyggnaden” var väl knappast planerat? 😉
Jaja, den som lever får se om han har båda knäskålarna kvar. 😉
Det är kul att du citerar saker som aldrig har sagts.
Jag sade att säkerhetsåtgärderna har löst sin uppgift, d.v.s. att skydda människa och miljö.
Att sedan reaktorn nu är en write-off… ja, so what? Det är en 40 år gammal reaktor som ändå snart var färdiganvänd. Vem gråter? Det är bara lite pengar det handlar om.