Chernobyl was an accident waiting to happen not because it was a reactor but because it was a Soviet reactor built to Soviet standards and maintained accordingly. In other words, “getting it built and operational” was more important than actually having a sound design. []With Fukushima, IIRC there was a similar situation going in regards to hiding and/or ignoring defects and problems until it was too late. []In contrast, America, Europe, and Israel keep their reactors tightly monitored and controlled. The odds of a Fukushima or Chernobyl happening here are therefore fairly low.
The owners of the Fukushima reactor did not retain it properly. Reactors in the US are properly maintained, and the regulating authority makes certain that they are. An catastrophe like the one in Japan will not happen here.
What people fail to remember is that the Fukushima reactor shut down properly. The tsunami knocked out power lines that would have supplied power to keep cooling pumps and other necessary systems operating. No problem. The plant had emergency generators to provide power should outside power is lost. But the tsunami swamped the emergency generators. The sea wall protecting them was too low. The generators should have been mounted higher. But still the reactor itself functioned as designed and shut down. It was the loss of power, outside and emergency that caused the problem.
Ironhold almost 11 years ago
Chernobyl was an accident waiting to happen not because it was a reactor but because it was a Soviet reactor built to Soviet standards and maintained accordingly. In other words, “getting it built and operational” was more important than actually having a sound design. []With Fukushima, IIRC there was a similar situation going in regards to hiding and/or ignoring defects and problems until it was too late. []In contrast, America, Europe, and Israel keep their reactors tightly monitored and controlled. The odds of a Fukushima or Chernobyl happening here are therefore fairly low.
georgelcsmith almost 11 years ago
The owners of the Fukushima reactor did not retain it properly. Reactors in the US are properly maintained, and the regulating authority makes certain that they are. An catastrophe like the one in Japan will not happen here.
BloomCo almost 11 years ago
What people fail to remember is that the Fukushima reactor shut down properly. The tsunami knocked out power lines that would have supplied power to keep cooling pumps and other necessary systems operating. No problem. The plant had emergency generators to provide power should outside power is lost. But the tsunami swamped the emergency generators. The sea wall protecting them was too low. The generators should have been mounted higher. But still the reactor itself functioned as designed and shut down. It was the loss of power, outside and emergency that caused the problem.