[Rob A. Bank]

The French nuclear safety agency IRSN and Meteo-France have updated their model of the global CS-137 pollution from Fukushema. It is extending well below the equator now.

http://www.irsn.fr/FR/popup/Pages/ir...al_8avril.aspx

[Jernal]

Originally Posted by My name is URL

A brave bet! What makes you think that? The Chernobyl disaster is still to this day responsible for a number of ailments and birth defects.

Chernobyl was a continuously "exploding" incident releasing tonnes of radioactive material into air and crucially was able to launch the heavy isotopes into the atmosphere. Because of fukushima's design this is not possible and simply can't happen as easily. The biggest danger is the transport of contaminants from one location to the next. For example plutonium dust can easily stick to your shoes if you walk on top of it.

Also, for a so called scientific organisation the lack of quantities give in that source is appalling.

So a quick edit.

In Belarus alone, over 10,000 people developed thyroid cancer since the catastrophe [Is 10,000 causally linked to Chernobyl? What were the numbers like for people getting tyhroid cancer before hand. Has the screening process improved since?]. According to a WHO prognosis, in the Belarussian region of Gomel alone more than 50,000 children will develop thyroid cancer during their lives [Are these cases caused by radiation from Chernobyl? Or are other background factors influential here.]. If one adds together all age groups then about 100,000 cases of thyroid cancer have to be reckoned with in the Gomel region.[This appears to be predicting one quarter of the population will get thyroid cancer! Under current radiation models a 1 Sv dose increases an individuals risk of cancer by 5%...something is clearly amiss with this claim.]

[Rob A. Bank]

Originally Posted by Malty_T

Chernobyl was a continuously "exploding" incident releasing tonnes of radioactive material into air and crucially was able to launch the heavy isotopes into the atmosphere. Because of fukushima's design this is not possible and simply can't happen as easily. The biggest danger is the transport of contaminants from one location to the next. For example plutonium dust can easily stick to your shoes if you walk on top of it.

So the Strontium-90 (a heavy isotope) detected more than 30km from the Fukushema plant was walked there ?

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/85002.html

[Coles]

Clearly not taking into account the explosion and fires at the fully loaded fuel pool at Reactor 4.

Strange that the IAEA raised the level from 5 to 7 without taking into account Reactor 4 either. The claim that the radiation released is only 10% of Chernobyl is also only based on Reactors 1, 2 and 3.

Are we to forget about Reactor 4?

Watch the Fairewinds videos and you'll get a clearer picture of what is happening at Fukushima. Of particular interest are the 31st of March video about Reactor 4 and the 29th of March video about Plutonium being found outside the power plant.

[shedweller]

Originally Posted by Rob A. Bank

So the Strontium-90 (a heavy isotope) detected more than 30km from the Fukushema plant was walked there ?

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/85002.html

With a half life of 28.9 years. Look at the table on the right hand side, half way down the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strontium

[peasant]

Originally Posted by PeakOutput

it took one of the largest earthquakes in history to damage a 50/60 year old reactor to an extent that it eventually caused a major accident. To me that speaks volumes about how safe nuclear energy has been made.

Nuclear energy is extremely safe, nuclear reactors are extremely safe ...

...as long as everything stays within the known or assumed parameters that were used to calculate and engineer that level of safety.

The problem starts when things go wrong. Then nuclear energy turns into this untameable, uncontrollable monster that can pollute, maim and kill for generations to come.

And as the relatively short history of nuclear energy shows ...things DO go wrong. Be it stupid human errror, corruption and low grade materials or the forces of nature that were simply stronger than allowed for.

Despite all the propaganda by vested interests to the contrary, despite all the statistics and despite all the inconclusive reports into the amount of direct and indirect vicitms of nuclear power gone wrong ...one fact remains:

Once nuclear power goes out of control it is virtually unstoppable and untold damage will be done ...and it will go out of control somehow and somewhere again. It is quite pointless arguing about how safe nuclear power is statistically ...how this has been taken into calculation or that has been provided for ...it will never be 100% safe as it simply can't be brought back under control once it goes out of control for whatever miniscule or massive cause.

The logical conclusion is that nuclear energy is 100% unsafe.
No matter what.

[el diablo]

Originally Posted by peasant

Nuclear energy is extremely safe, nuclear reactors are extremely safe ...



The logical conclusion is that nuclear energy is 100% unsafe.
No matter what.

[geetar]

Originally Posted by peasant

The problem starts when things go wrong.

really?..

Originally Posted by peasant

it will never be 100% safe as it simply can't be brought back under control once it goes out of control for whatever miniscule or massive cause.

for the record when anything goes "out of control" it cant be brought back into control, that what the expression means...

the fukishima incident is not out of control. nuclear energy is not 100% safe, but no energy source is. im not going ot restate the statistics that have already been said countless times on this thread. but nuclear energy is responsible for far less deaths then any other. there was a graph on another thread that had deaths per kilowatt hour of energy, and nuclear energy was last on the list, below wind turbines... i dont even understand how people die from wind turbines ....

[peasant]

Originally Posted by geetar

the fukishima incident is not out of control.

Oh really?

You want to go down there with your bucket and spade and shovel all the escaped radiation back into the fuel rods ?

Or maybe run the the pacific ocean through your Brita filter jug ?

Not out of control ...

[jwt]

Originally Posted by PeakOutput

................if you havnt already go onto ted.com and search for bill gates: innovating to zero.............

And just when this thread was descending to a new level of "oh no it's not....oh yes it is...." this little gem pops up. excellent resource.

Thank you.

edit direct link

[Run_to_da_hills]

Originally Posted by geetar

The fukishima incident is not out of control.

That's that Tepco have been telling us since day one.

Do you honestly believe them?

I will only believe this when we get the OK from a reputable international source and not some nuke apologist club.

[Bat Fasterd]

Originally Posted by KamiKazi

*Scrolls back to the start of this thread where all the bedroom nuclear experts insisted this would never reach level 7*

Ain't that the truth.

[andrew]

A table comparing Fukushima and Chernobyl (from BBC)

[ninja900]

Originally Posted by peasant

Nuclear energy is extremely safe, nuclear reactors are extremely safe ...

...as long as everything stays within the known or assumed parameters that were used to calculate and engineer that level of safety.

The problem starts when things go wrong.

Which is why we shouldn't build 45-year-old reactor designs in major earthquake zones

Technology has moved on greatly in that time.

[ninja900]

Originally Posted by gbee

Back in an early post, the china syndrome was mentioned, as events are unfolding, those very early reports were in fact correct. We do have a reactor breech and uncontrolled reaction taking place in the Torus.

The almost certain possibility of this happened had been known from the beginning.

I doubt I've ever read worse BS on boards