# Nuclear meltdown! Holy Godzilla NOOOO!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 12, 2011, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389 "2011-03-12T08:19:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/241 "2011-03-13T07:42:52Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Bull! Every time something that looks remotely bad for nuclear power, you’re here to rant about it. You’re about as neutral as Snowboarder Bo on the issue (speaking of whom, I’m surprised he hasn’t shown yet). Say my name once, and I hear it and appear! WOOT! Seriously, fuckface, I’m not against nuclear power; I’m against being strongarmed into storing nuclear waste in Nevada. If you had any reading comprehension skills, you’d know that. You’re welcome for explaining it to you (again). Idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/242 "2011-03-13T07:58:30Z")
Venting #3, which leads to the possibility of another hydrogen explosion. I wonder what they are doing to avoid such an explosion? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/243 "2011-03-13T08:15:38Z")
The rods have zirconium, so when the overheated rods are cooled with water, the result is zirconium oxide and hydrogen, thus the hydrogen explosion. The authorities have been spreading iodine in the area. My question for Levdrakon: how much iodine in my medicine cabinet should I use to relieve radiation poisoning when there is a atomic explosion caused by the hot water on my shaving razor? ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/244 "2011-03-13T08:16:39Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > …And I am completely sober. Could have fooled me… > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > The 1906 San Francisco quake moved land 18 feet in Point Reyes. Maybe it was a 7.9. We are a lot more prepared now, but a 9.0 would kill hundreds of thousands. Diablo Canyon is not designed to withstand such a thing. The Pacific Rim and Sumatra have had at least 4 9.0 or higher quakes in the last 100 years. Friday’s earthquake moved the earth’s rotation on it’s access 10 cm… What the hell are you talking about? Why not make it a magnitude 10.0…or wait **[This Is Spinal Tap]** maybe it goes to 11?**[/This Is Spinal Tap]**. You know about as much about seismology as you know about coprolites rattling around your head. > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > …And it’s hardly everything mother nature has to dish out. Combined with human error and hubris we don’t want to put our safety into the hands of people like John Boehner and his crew who just last week wanted to cut tsunami warning funds [http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2011/03/11/gop-would-cut-tsunami-warning-funding](http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2011/03/11/gop-would-cut-tsunami-warning-funding) because it taxes the rich too much. Do you really want that emotional weepy basketcase and his butt buddies deciding safety isn’t important every election cycle? Waah! Woah is the system! I’m **The Second Stone** , and I’m insightful, but morose–O the humanity! What’s this? My computer just finished an AI analysis of **TSS** C: Turing test complete–Fail. Subject lacking coherence and comprehension of outside world. :rolleyes: I’m outta here. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/245 "2011-03-13T09:13:27Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Which is not a statement contained in the post I replied to (nor is it something I - or anyone else, I would would hope - dispute. It is now a ex-powerplant, pining for the fjords). His statement was that as far as we know the reactor core will remain hot as long as Chernobyl. There’s absolutely nothing to indicate that at present. Dean Martin is dead and will never sing at your birthday again. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/246 "2011-03-13T09:15:45Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > The rods have zirconium, so when the overheated rods are cooled with water, the result is zirconium oxide and hydrogen, thus the hydrogen explosion. The authorities have been spreading iodine in the area. My question for Levdrakon: how much iodine in my medicine cabinet should I use to relieve radiation poisoning when there is a atomic explosion caused by the hot water on my shaving razor? My iodine pills are 500mg. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/247 "2011-03-13T10:48:20Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > What the hell are you talking about? Why not make it a magnitude 10.0…or wait **[This Is Spinal Tap]** maybe it goes to 11?**[/This Is Spinal Tap]**. You know about as much about seismology as you know about coprolites rattling around your head. I’m confused – what’s the seismological problem with what he said? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/248 "2011-03-13T14:41:46Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > But human nature is to cut corners. Building a nuke plant in Japan safe to only a 7.5 was just fucking stupid. If there is anyplace in the world that could have had a series of 9.0 plus quakes before recording levels were invented, it was fucking Japan. Japan is one of the most seismically active places on earth in frequency and intensity. Only engineers under the influence of accountants would assume that Japan could not have the strongest quake measured in modern times. That is human nature. And when the next quake is 9.6 you’ll be complaining that they didn’t anticipate the most severe quake every. Or when a 50M meteorite hits a power plant, you’ll be complaining that it wasn’t built on the moon or something. You also seem to forget, or more likely ignore, that nuclear plants are not built in isolation. Governments give their blessing or it isn’t built. So while “engineers under the influence of accountants” built the damned thing, government, your representatives, approved it. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/249 "2011-03-13T14:42:20Z")
> **[Japan Continues Rescue Operations Following Massive Quake, Tsunami](https://www.voanews.com/a/japan-continues-rescue-operations-following-massive-quake-and-tsunami-117894819/136403.html)** > > 100,000 Japanese troops join efforts to find and rescue thousands of people missing or trapped under collapsed buildings > [@](#): > > At a news conference, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the trembler that struck Friday was actually three large earthquakes in quick succession. Agency officials raised the magnitude to 9, making it the world’s fourth largest recorded earthquake. They also warned of more strong aftershocks to come. > > The agency said there is a 70 percent chance of a magnitude 7-class earthquake in the next three days. ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/250 "2011-03-13T14:45:50Z")
Damn slow trigger coming on these meltdowns - if that’s what it is. You think maybe those Japanese nuclear engineers know what they’re doing? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/251 "2011-03-13T15:02:34Z")
You do realize that this is all part of Gadhafi’s plan. He’s well aware of the fact that the US attention span can only fixate on one topic at a time for a grand total of 5.7 days. And with pre-season baseball starting, I fear we’ll never know what becomes of this reactor… ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/252 "2011-03-13T15:08:55Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > You do realize that this is all part of Gadhafi’s plan. He’s well aware of the fact that the US attention span can only fixate on one topic at a time for a grand total of 5.7 days. And with pre-season baseball starting, I fear we’ll never know what becomes of this reactor… Couldn’t he have just put LSD in our Nescafe? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/253 "2011-03-13T15:11:53Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Couldn’t he have just put LSD in our Nescafe? That was the original plan, but it turned out he’d already used it up himself. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/254 "2011-03-13T16:16:07Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Couldn’t he have just put LSD in our Nescafe? There’s no earthly way of knowing Which direction we are going There’s no knowing where we’re rowing Or which way the river’s flowing Is it raining, is it snowing? Is a hurricane a-blowing? Not a speck of light is showing So the danger must be growing! Are the fires of Hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing? YES!!! Yes, the danger must be growing For the rowers keep on rowing And they’re certainly not showing Any signs that they are slowing Stop! We’re here. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/255 "2011-03-13T16:18:55Z")
Burma-Shave meets methedrine. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/256 "2011-03-13T16:54:20Z")
So, anyway, I was asking myself “Who is going to be writing the checks for all of this? Dear Og, I hope they aren’t insured by AIG!” But someone, somewhere, is going to take one screaming **FUCK** of a hit. Which led me to this: [http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/markets/newsfeeditem.aspx?id=134292890103888](http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/markets/newsfeeditem.aspx?id=134292890103888) **WSJ: Japan Government Responsible For Nuclear Cleanup Costs, Insurers Say** We may have to send them more lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/257 "2011-03-13T16:56:52Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/574600/1): > > I also grieve with the earth conditions got worse the longer is there any fault of our own. let us together build togetherness and helping each other. :)🙂 > > [http://freeimagestocks.com/content/11/dot.png](http://freeimagestocks.com/content/11/dot.png) I grieve, too. But, it’s for the lack of English skills. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/258 "2011-03-13T17:07:05Z")
Excuse me please for interrupting snark and sass, but I just followed [a great link](http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/) provided by a regular commentator at [Balloon Juice](http://www.balloon-juice.com/) (warning, lefty site) which gives a very very good summary of the events at the Fukushima station and what they mean. I highly recommend the article in the first link above. It covers most of the questions brought up in this thread, including the story behind loss of backup power to the cooling pumps, the use of seawater for emergency cooling, the containment of the reactor core before during and after meltdown, and the release of radioactive material into the enviornment. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/259 "2011-03-13T17:14:33Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > So, anyway, I was asking myself “Who is going to be writing the checks for all of this? Dear Og, I hope they aren’t insured by AIG!” But someone, somewhere, is going to take one screaming **FUCK** of a hit. > > Which led me to this: > > [http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/markets/newsfeeditem.aspx?id=134292890103888](http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/markets/newsfeeditem.aspx?id=134292890103888) > > **WSJ: Japan Government Responsible For Nuclear Cleanup Costs, Insurers Say** > > We may have to send them more lawyers. Good lord! They have just had a 9.0 quake, a tsunami, nuclear meltdowns at multiple sites. They get the WSJ delivered and you want to add to all of this tragedy by sending lawyers?! I know this is the Pit man, but have you no decency? At long last, have you no decency? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/260 "2011-03-13T17:15:38Z")
The earthquake was at the limit they constructed for. Then a tsunami comes and takes out the electricity and backup systems. That stripped them of defensive abilities . Pumping sea water into the rods was a act of desperation. Hopefully it will work . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=14)