# 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:** 22
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/421 "2011-03-15T23:20:02Z")
The fire in reactor #4 is being reported by PETCO to be the same fire, they never got it under control. ---
**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 15, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/422 "2011-03-15T23:20:27Z")
> [@Nadir](#): > > Some people actually want a major radiological disaster to occur. As if it would somehow exonerate their long held enviro-pussy beliefs against nuclear power. :rolleyes: > > Please spare us the blow-by-blow media hype circus. :rolleyes: And there are some murderous apologists who don’t want to hear any criticism of their favorite murderous technology because it would incriminate them. Words have consequences. Pro-nuclear power misinformation kills innocent people. If you have to hear about it, imagine my lack of sympathy for those sensitive feelings. ---
**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 15, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/423 "2011-03-15T23:23:29Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > In 1972 the AEC safety official was decrying the pressure system used in the GE reactors. He felt they were unacceptable safety risks. He said “What are the advantages of the pressure suspension ,apart from cost”. Yes they could have and should have been made safer. Well he was just a liberal naysayer fuckin’ communist trying to save lives that the pro-nuke people didn’t consider human, but rather “acceptable risks”. Taking huge risks with the lives of people you don’t know is a fundamental conservative characteristic. ---
**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 15, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/424 "2011-03-15T23:25:28Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > And there are some murderous apologists who don’t want to hear any criticism of their favorite murderous technology because it would incriminate them. Words have consequences. Pro-nuclear power misinformation kills innocent people. If you have to hear about it, imagine my lack of sympathy for those sensitive feelings. He’s a pustule and you’re an idiot. Well, actually you’re both idiots and he’s a pustule. So I guess you’re one up on him. So you got that going for you. ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/425 "2011-03-15T23:30:59Z")
> [@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. I was just scanning this thread to see if anyone posted that. I thought it was very informative and well written for the average schlep. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/426 "2011-03-15T23:31:56Z")
It’s friggin hilarious. In all of this massive disaster, with billions of people waiting for news on the 6 reactors and 800 tons of fuels rods laying about in a terrific mess, in-serious-danger, and 50 desperate men fighting not to fix anything, just to try and stop it from getting much worse, the issue is what this might do to future reactors. Nevermind the millions of traumatized frightened people, many of them cold and in the dark, a half million homeless, with maybe no food water or much of anything at all. Forget about the terrible horror and the 200,000 people evacuated, told to stay indoors and not drink the water, no, the real problem is what this might do to nuclear power. It’s very dark humor. ---
**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 15, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/427 "2011-03-15T23:39:46Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > It’s friggin hilarious. In all of this massive disaster… the issue is what this might do to future reactors. Nevermind the millions of traumatized frightened people… Forget about the terrible horror and the 200,000 people evacuated… no, the real problem is what this might do to nuclear power. It’s very dark humor. This is a different form of inane attack, not quite as insulting as **Nadir** ’s fuckwittedness, but just as untrue. Not one person has said the setback to nuclear power overshadows the immense catastrophe that’s happened to Japan. (Think I’ll evacuate from this thread. The OP was trolling and the crowd has enough assholes already without me getting jerkish.) ---
**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 16, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/428 "2011-03-16T00:11:50Z")
So, you guys all got your [iodine pills?](http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110315/CGY_iodine_radiation_110315/20110315/?hub=CalgaryHome) :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/429 "2011-03-16T00:40:39Z")
Yeah, just saw that on the news. Canadians buying iodine pills to prevent radiation poisoning. Every sale should come with a free trip to a Soylent Green processing plant. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/430 "2011-03-16T00:55:21Z")
If you get mad at people for being scared, try not to ever have kids. Please. Because people get scared. Something like this will scare people. Telling them they are stupid for being scared, that makes them afraid of you. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/431 "2011-03-16T00:57:42Z")
If you’re dumb enough to buy the iodine pills that don’t also have electrolytes, you deserve it. Cool the herd. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/432 "2011-03-16T01:10:50Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > If you’re dumb enough to buy the iodine pills that don’t also have electrolytes, you deserve it. Cool the herd. I sense a whole new market opening up for Redbull… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/433 "2011-03-16T01:14:45Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Don’t get me wrong - I also believe we need to find alternative, renewable energy sources… Well, good. Does that mean you stop hitting me with that stick? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/434 "2011-03-16T01:14:46Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Telling them they are stupid for being scared, that makes them afraid of you. Afraid of me? They have the right to vote! That scares the crap out of me and for good reason as they just demonstrated. That reactor is 7000Km away from here. Anyone who thinks it is a danger had better get rid of their microwave as it probably puts out far more radiation. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/435 "2011-03-16T01:22:58Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > If you’re dumb enough to buy the iodine pills that don’t also have electrolytes, you deserve it. Cool the herd. Come on people. Easy one here. Electrolytes! Its what (nuclear) plants crave. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/436 "2011-03-16T01:30:24Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Afraid of me? They have the right to vote! That scares the crap out of me and for good reason as they just demonstrated. That reactor is 7000Km away from here. Anyone who thinks it is a danger had better get rid of their microwave as it probably puts out far more radiation. Well, it’s not like the media is always a big help for people otherwise in a hurry. “Earthquake in Japan. Will a tsunami devastate the west coast???” “Radiation in Japan. What does it mean for the west coast???” I hear there’s a run on iodine pills in the US, Russia, and other places. You know what sucks? If you google “iodine pills” and click on the first sponsored result, you’ll see a bottle of iodine pills “regularly” selling for $60, on “sale” for $25. Pigs. Iodine pills don’t cost that much; they’re like 4 bucks/bottle or something. ---
**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 16, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/437 "2011-03-16T02:00:51Z")
I WISH they were afraid of me! Maybe they’d get the hell out of my way when I’m driving and walking then! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/438 "2011-03-16T02:08:55Z")
Well, frankly if you have a disaster kit you also ought to have iodine pills, because they’re cheap, you can throw them in with the crank-powered radio, and you need to take them prophylactically in the unlikely event that you’d need them. I keep meaning to order some. So it’s remotely possible that the people ordering them had been meaning to get some for a while, right? (I mean, I never get around to it - suppose now’s a bad time.) ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/439 "2011-03-16T02:25:42Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Hell, **Sam** , you may be right. Certainly it is the technological challenge of our age, worthy of a Tesla or an Einstein, how do we think ourselves out of this mess we thought ourselves into? > > But if we can’t, we’re most likely fucked. And not in the sense of an uncomfortable loss of living standard, but in the sense of dead. No doubt, we have wasted billions in our mad scramble to make up for lost time. No doubt, we will waste billions more, and there is no guarantee of success. > > But if we are prudent, hard-headed and realistic, we can save all that money. And count it. As our world turns brown and lifeless, we can congratulate ourselves on not squandering that money on foolish schemes. But maybe you’re right, that’s undeniable, we don’t know. Its a gamble, to be sure, when we have so much to invest in. Futile military adventures, advertising ten varieties of loud, shiny crap. Good thing we didn’t waste that perfectly good money on pie in the sky schemes. We might not have cheese flavored dog food and really big, fast cars! Tragedy. > > And if we, by some miracle, succeed? You’ll be first in line to take the credit. Entrepreneurship! you’ll say. A vigorous, competitive capitalism, that’s what saved the day! And we moonbats? We’ll be fine with that, we’ll just dandle our grandchildren on our knees. And then we’ll go dream up something else silly and unrealistic for you to sneer at. Well put. I consider the resources and smart people wasted in military hardware development to be criminally stupid, and if there was ever a time to redirect those efforts it is now. Or even forty years ago. Don’t ever stop being a moonbat. Our species needs hope, inspiration, beauty and ideas we can aspire to, and those that sneer at such things have their own cramped little worlds as their punishment. I still have hopes that large scale [OTEC](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_thermal_energy_conversion) might be competitive with fossil/nuclear now, and it’ll solve our water problems as well. The deep drilling and well recovery techniques being pioneered as we scramble for the remaining oil might lead to a revolution in geothermal energy, which rivals fossil fuels for energy density and kicks the ass of wind and solar. But even if we take the easier route and gradually go nuclear-plus-hydrogen-plus-battery over the next hundred-odd years, it’ll leave us with a cleaner atmosphere and allow the developing world to escape poverty without cooking the planet in a CO2 blanket, if we do it right. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/440 "2011-03-16T02:44:27Z")
I don’t want to bother anybody with the current situation. Which is either not that bad, or worse than anything that has ever happened. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=23)