# 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:** 14
**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, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/261 "2011-03-13T17:15:56Z")
> [@](#): > > …This is where things started to go seriously wrong. The external power generators could not be connected to the power plant (the plugs did not fit)… - - emphasis added in shock, horror, and dismay\* Very reassuring, right up to this point. ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/262 "2011-03-13T17:17:34Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > 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. Warning, left site? Yeah, we could go to Fox. ---
**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, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/263 "2011-03-13T17:24:56Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > - > - emphasis added in shock, horror, and dismay\* > > Very reassuring, right up to this point. Yeah, I’m having trouble imagining a case where mismatched disconnects would present an insurmountable problem. Why didn’t they hardwire the damn generators in? Lack of sufficient cabling and tooling… at a power plant? There’s gotta be more to that story. ---
**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, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/264 "2011-03-13T17:27:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Warning, left site?.. Its a bit of politeness I heartily endorse, showing respect for your reader, and letting the reader know you are not trying to pull a slow one. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/265 "2011-03-13T17:31:18Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Why didn’t they hardwire the damn generators in? Lack of sufficient cabling and tooling… at a power plant? There’s gotta be more to that story. Older plants that were retrofitted? ---
**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, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/266 "2011-03-13T17:37:26Z")
Q: What’s Japanese for “Oooopsy-daisy”? A: _Seppuku_. Too soon? ---
**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, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/267 "2011-03-13T17:46:58Z")
I suppose the good news in all of this is, despite the Asian advantage in math, their engineers are no better than our own. Which is, of course, the bad news as well. ---
**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, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/268 "2011-03-13T17:53:03Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I suppose the good news in all of this is, despite the Asian advantage in math, their engineers are no better than our own. Which is, of course, the bad news as well. It was built by G.E. ---
**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, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/269 "2011-03-13T17:56:54Z")
Well, thank you, Mr. Sunshine! ---
**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, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/270 "2011-03-13T18:04:10Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Older plants that were retrofitted? Or, plausibly, in the rush to get available mobile power units to site, someone wasn’t careful about matching the voltage/frequency of the gen sets with the requirements at the site. And they didn’t realize this until the plug problem smacked 'em in the face. Either way, a big old stinking fuckup. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/271 "2011-03-13T18:04:45Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Too soon? Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/272 "2011-03-13T18:14:12Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Excuse me please for interrupting snark and sass, but I just followed [a great link](http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/) \ I just read it, and it does indeed seem to be a very good re-cap and explanation of what happened. Would some of you big brains mind reading it and vetting it before I send it to everyone I know to counter the sensationalism they are encountering on the news? ---
**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, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/273 "2011-03-13T18:15:11Z")
It is starting to sound like human error (not design/engineering) may end up being a big contributing factor to whatever ends up happening at those reactors. Wasn’t bad batteries a big contributor in the BP Gulf spill? No mater what, you can never underestimate the potential effects of Murphy’s Law. Here we see Murphy’s Law of Thermodynamics in practice (things get worse under pressure). If you want to seize that opportunity for a political/environmentalist diatribe, by all means - go right ahead. Rational people aren’t listening. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/274 "2011-03-13T18:30:20Z")
It sounds to me like they actually did an amazing job at Fukushima, both in planning and executing disaster plans. To have only one or two glitches is astonishing. Also, I am optimistic that the next generation of nuclear power plants will be even better because of this real world situation. ---
**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, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/275 "2011-03-13T19:33:15Z")
I don’t see it that way. Two potential meltdowns is not a rousing success. They will have to be sealed up for an eternity and new plants will have to be constructed. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/276 "2011-03-13T19:37:14Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > 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. So basically, when things go to shit at a nuclear power station we should shut up about it because it’s actually our fault for ever allowing the things to get built. Well I have a quick simple money-saving solution to that problem. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/277 "2011-03-13T19:37:54Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I don’t see it that way. Two potential meltdowns is not a rousing success. They will have to be sealed up for an eternity and new plants will have to be constructed. Would any other type of power plant have survived such a quake/tsunami? If a coal-burning plant had been sitting there instead, I suspect it would also need to be completely rebuilt. ---
**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, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/278 "2011-03-13T19:38:00Z")
How much you want to bet they put the backup generators in tsunami-proof buildings at the new plants? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/279 "2011-03-13T19:41:16Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Dean Martin is dead and will never sing at your birthday again. Ain’t that a kick in the head? 😃 It’s fascinating to me that the Pit thread on the condition of the at-risk nukes is getting way more responses than any “serious” thread on the emergency. Then again, the way the Japanese government is waffling to the world media, there really isn’t that much new information to “seriously” discuss. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/280 "2011-03-13T20:01:41Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Would any other type of power plant have survived such a quake/tsunami? If a coal-burning plant had been sitting there instead, I suspect it would also need to be completely rebuilt. I disagree, but I can’t offer you an hard cites, just going off my experience working with coal power plants for 2 decades. The quake would damage things but coal power plants are flexible and meant to move - the buckstays on the plants are meant to give and act as shock absorbers, and the entire boiler is mounted in fairly flexible steel as it’s meant to move (little known fact, coal boilers grow considerably as they’re heated, which is one reason so many of them are suspended from above, so they can stretch). One nice thing about coal boilers is then the fire blows out/the unit trips, there isn’t the residual heat of the core to deal with for more than an hour or so. [QUOTE=The Second Stone] Engineers are a necessary evil. [/QUOTE] I need to check but I’m sure this ties for one of the dumbest things written on this message board. Who the fuck do you think is responsible in part for almost all the things around you? Poets? History majors? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=15)