# 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:** 23
**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 16, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/441 "2011-03-16T02:58:22Z")
[ > [@](#): > > Japan suspended operations to prevent a stricken nuclear plant from melting down Wednesday after a surge in radiation made it too dangerous for workers to remain at the facility. ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS\_JAPAN\_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-03-15-22-35-46](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-03-15-22-35-46)) One plant going down for the count. I just hope the workers didn’t get dosed too heavily to survive before they abandoned their efforts. ---
**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, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/442 "2011-03-16T03:06:21Z")
Hey, we don’t want your play by play of the disaster! ---
**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, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/443 "2011-03-16T03:07:34Z")
Fuck. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/444 "2011-03-16T03:09:47Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [url=[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS\_JAPAN\_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-03-15-22-35-46](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-03-15-22-35-46)] > > One plant going down for the count. I just hope the workers didn’t get dosed too heavily to survive before they abandoned their efforts. MSNBC reporting that they left for 45 minutes due to high radiation levels, and have returned. That said, I am not getting much sense that there is any measurable control of the situation, or that it will be regained in a relatively short time. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/445 "2011-03-16T04:55:43Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > The fire in reactor #4 is being reported by PETCO to be the same fire, they never got it under control. PetSmart denies this. Furry Paws could not be reached for comment. ---
**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, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/446 "2011-03-16T05:05:39Z")
A spokesman for Pep Boys said he was glad that no Pep Boys were involved. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/447 "2011-03-16T05:08:24Z")
But where were the Pet Shop Boys? ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/448 "2011-03-16T05:24:15Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > But where were the Pet Shop Boys? The west end. Duh. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/449 "2011-03-16T05:56:48Z")
> [@Spit](#): > > Yes you can, and I have seen it in action. Shareholders don’t like major accidents that depress the stock price. I’m not saying that every company is perfect, but there are many who put forth a great effort for safety. I have a good friend who is an evil oil guy. He’s told me that many people buy just a few shares of stock so they can go the the shareholders meetings and demand better environmental contols. They are all about safety. They make a lot of noise and sometimes get listened to. The company is all about keeping their workers safe. The major shareholders, not so much. They don’t care about the birds and people. They just don’t want lawsuits. So, I guess I posted this to agree with **Spit** ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/450 "2011-03-16T06:33:57Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > 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. Arguably, it could have larger importance in the context of what to do about climate change. After all, there are people on this thread arguing that fewer nuclear power plants could be directly responsible for higher future temperatures, and thus possibly even more deaths than 200,000. But I don’t think even those people are arguing that the 200K now are somehow less important for it, either. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/451 "2011-03-16T09:55:35Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > Fight my ignorance, was this a for-profit nuke plant traded on the Nikkei? Ignorance that is so deep it requires a question like this answering is clearly beyond fighting. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/452 "2011-03-16T10:45:12Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > 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. Well said. ---
**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, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/453 "2011-03-16T13:04:43Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Arguably, it could have larger importance in the context of what to do about climate change. After all, there are people on this thread arguing that fewer nuclear power plants could be directly responsible for higher future temperatures, and thus possibly even more deaths than 200,000. > > But I don’t think even those people are arguing that the 200K now are somehow less important for it, either. I’m one of those people; I don’t think we have the luxury of sticking our noses in the air and saying, “No, thank you” to nuclear power if we want to continue to have as many people on the earth as we have and enjoy our standard of living (I think changing both of those things would also be part of the solution, but an even harder sell). Mother Nature’s a hard, cold bitch - you fuck with her long enough, she’ll get even eventually. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/454 "2011-03-16T16:21:40Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m one of those people; I don’t think we have the luxury of sticking our noses in the air and saying, “No, thank you” to nuclear power if we want to continue to have as many people on the earth as we have and enjoy our standard of living (I think changing both of those things would also be part of the solution, but an even harder sell). Mother Nature’s a hard, cold bitch - you fuck with her long enough, she’ll get even eventually. I don’t think we have that luxury either. But as i’ve said we also don’t have the luxury of letting companies whose main concern is the bottom line be in charge of the genie bottle. To quote the [Tepco Financial Strategy](http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/corpinfo/overview/vision2020/financial/index-e.html) > [@](#): > > Since the electric power market began to be liberalized, we have lowered electricity rates \*\*by thoroughly curbing capital investment \*\*and reducing costs to win customers’ continued patronage while strengthening business (financial) structure, and thus maintained business sustainability. > > \ > > We will continue to share the results of our business growth with our shareholders and pay stable dividends as we have in the past, in consideration of funds needed for investing in growth businesses and maintaining financial soundness toward achieving 2020 Vision. And how’s that whole ‘throughly curbing capital investment thing’ working out for ya now that the [removed rods from the shut down reactors 5 and 6 are also overheating](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12745186) when they should be safe under 30 feet of water? These are rods outside of a containment dome for those who want to play along at home. > [@](#): > > An official with the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which owns the station, told BBC News that the cause was believed to be a lack of water in the pool. > > This caused the rods to overheat, reacting with steam and generating hydrogen - which then ignited, similar to the earlier blasts in reactor buildings 1, 2 and 3 when hydrogen was vented from the reactor vessel. > [@](#): > > In the meantime, the key task for workers at the plant remains to get enough water into the reactors - and, now, into the spent fuel pools - with the poor resources at their disposal. > > Among all the news coming out of Fukushima from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the nuclear safety agency, and local and national authorities, there has hardly been a mention of new equipment arriving at the site. > > That implies that technicians are still working with water pumps designed for putting out fires and an improvised technique based on the turbine hall’s fire extinguishing system. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/455 "2011-03-16T16:59:08Z")
> [@tagos](#): > > And how’s that whole ‘throughly curbing capital investment thing’ working out for ya now that the [removed rods from the shut down reactors 5 and 6 are also overheating](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12745186) when they should be safe under 30 feet of water? These are rods outside of a containment dome for those who want to play along at home. This is a symptom of the same problem that is causing the cooling problems in the reactors that were active. The rods continue to produce waste heat for quite a long time even after being taken out of commission. The cooling pool has a heat exchanger in it that keeps the pool at a constant temperature. That heat exchanger is offline due to the ongoing power outage; hence, the water in the pool began to heat and eventually boil off. You can make a case that the cooling ponds should have been placed in a containment dome also, but there’s nothing mysterious or nefarious about the process that is causing the cooling problem. ---
**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, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/456 "2011-03-16T17:14:03Z")
Finally, close up images of the reactors have been released. (no Geiger counter or video, just stills) It’s real bad. Those tremendous explosions really did blow three reactor buildings all to hell. Literally, it’s hell. ---
**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, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/457 "2011-03-16T17:16:28Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > Well said. Thanks. I tend to vent my emotions by writing, which at times means I sound all emotional about crap. Because I am all emotional about crap. Fortune smiles, because I do most of the really emotional crap elsewhere. Anybody who can watch these events unfold and not become emotional, they are either damaged somehow, or maybe just an engineer. (that was joke) ---
**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 16, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/458 "2011-03-16T17:37:02Z")
I wonder if a tidal wave might be able to cool the fuel? ☹ ---
**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, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/459 "2011-03-16T17:39:48Z")
Maybe, but if salt water contacts any of the metal parts in a reactor, then you can’t ever use that reactor again. ---
**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, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/460 "2011-03-16T17:47:37Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Maybe, but if salt water contacts any of the metal parts in a reactor, then you can’t ever use that reactor again. Pssttt… That reactor aint being used again, saltwater or no. And its not that big a loss anyway. The thing was near the end of its useful life before all hell broke loose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=24)