Thread: Nuclear!

Sounds like asbestos. There's a really amazing form of it that is entirely useful and non-toxic, but all the fear mongers wanted all asbestos banned. Good job idiots...

Can someone please remind me what political party President Carter was affiliated with? My old memory is failing me!


If memory serves, he wasn't a Republican or a Libertarian...hmmm...what was that party?


Damn this poor memory of mine!

Very interesting thread to me. I have been working in Commerical Nuclear Power as a Senior Reactor Operator and Operations instructor since 1977. Prior to that I was in the US Navy Nuclear program for 6 years. It is the cheapest (by far), Cleanest (by far) and most regualted business in the world. It has the best safety record of any industry. The chances of you dying from a nuclear accident at a commerical nuclear plant is about 1 in a trillion. Hehe, you are many times more likely to die in your car, a plane, eaten by a shark, etc ect. As a matter of fact more people have died in Ted Kennedy's car than have died in commercial nuclear accidents in this country.

The training given and the design of US plants sets the standard for the world. Good thing too as the nation gets ready to undergo a massive nuclear plant building program. There are dangers associated with ANY technology. Nuclear always has been and always will be the most environmentally friendly enery source that we can rely on. If you are a tree hugger you should really embrace nuclear power.

[QUOTE=AaronX;251776]I hope he doesn't enjoy hot dogs... the choking risk on those isn't 0 either.

There's at least 3 studies on hot dogs related to childhood leukaemia. But let's not hijack the thread

I know there were only about 50 deaths directly related to Chernobyl but thousands were & are affected by subsequent ill health, birth defects, etc. Just a bit hard to come to terms with that...

However, I appreciate the experienced and researched info here. Seems the risk is low indeed. Thanx guys

There have been significant improvements in nuclear power since the Chernobyl accident. We learned a lot from Chernobyl and many precautions have been put in place to reduce the possibility of another nuclear mishap.

In addition, since 9/11 security improvements have been put in place in order to better secure our nation's infrastructure, including nuclear power. These improvements include but are not limited to: Better trained security personnel; more strict site access; more vehicle checks; mock-terrorist attacks and planning; better communication among the various levels of government. They have also conducted several studies to determine the consequences of an airborne attack, in which they concluded that if such an attack would occur, the possibility of damaging the reactor core and/or the release of radioactive material is very low. Lastly, since 9/11 security has significantly improved in the transporting and storing of nuclear waste.

In all, I strongly believe in nuclear power. Not only is it a sustainable energy source that will reduce carbon emissions, but it also has benefits on our national security because it's one small step to decrease our dependency on foreign oil. I understand that it is potentially dangerous, but on a lesser scale so is coal. Living in the appalachia and being apart of a coal-mining community, we lose several men every year from coal-mining accidents. As stated previously, the problem is that no one wants a nuclear power plant "in their back yard". However, I believe that we must act now and begin building immediately. The demands for energy will only increase and the tensions in the Middle-East will likely increase as well, so nuclear energy may be the best solution that we currently have (and I think it is).

I once did a couple of software projects for a plant where they made MOX fuel, and the security measures were draconian.
Bags etc were Xray'ed going in and out, radiation monitors, double access portals where you had to be cleared by security before you could pass.
And you only got on site after a background check by state security, no matter how urgent it was.
My first project meeting was on the parking lot, because my clearance hadn't been processed, and security didn't allow us to enter the inside meeting rooms

EDIT: also, I know that our reactors can withstand a boeing 747 crashing directly onto the reactor core. Of course the facility will be destroyed, but the reactor core itself shouldn't rupture.