# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/81 "2011-03-12T17:56:09Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Here in the US we live in a country where you can’t be president if you’re not a very strong God believer and church goer. Not only that, you have to be the right religion. No Catholics, Jews, Muslims need apply and atheist? Ha, ha, ha! Except for Jack Kennedy, VP candidate Joe Lieberman & for the last two categories, of course, Barack Obama. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/82 "2011-03-12T18:12:05Z")
They had a nuke expert on CNN today. He says they are pumping sea water into the core in order to cool the core and rods. The expert explained he never heard of a plant doing it and it is not part of the protocol. He thinks it smacks of desperation. They have evacuated a 20 KM zone around the plant. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/83 "2011-03-12T18:17:03Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Except for Jack Kennedy, VP candidate Joe Lieberman & for the last two categories, of course, Barack Obama. > 😃 Kennedy was the only one, and [God smote him good](http://www.slate.com/id/74688/). Lieberman was right out. ---
**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 12, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/84 "2011-03-12T18:19:24Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I have super powers!!! The Second Stone is our hero, hero of the nation. The only thing he suffers from is [del]nuclear radiation[/del] mental retardation. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/85 "2011-03-12T18:20:26Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Look, I’m with you all on most things but don’t be naive. The local cops are dressed [like this.](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/12/134486565/at-crippled-japanese-nuclear-plant-last-ditch-effort-to-prevent-meltdown) Oh my god! They must be doing the same dangerous work done by [insulation installers](http://greentex.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/installing-cellulose-blow-in-insulation.jpg)! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/86 "2011-03-12T18:21:54Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > Fuck, so much for nuclear power making a comeback in the US. Bring on the goddamn windmills and solar panels! > > Man, the enviro-pussies won’t allow a shovel of dirt being moved in preparation for a new plant for the next 20 years if ever. Fuck. Sad but true. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/87 "2011-03-12T18:27:53Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Except for Jack Kennedy, VP candidate Joe Lieberman & for the last two categories, of course, Barack Obama. > 😃 Not only that, but we have a Catholic Vice President right now. ---
**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 12, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/88 "2011-03-12T18:46:34Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > \ > I cannot understand why people today are not better informed about nuclear power. By all means oppose it but at least have some rational knowledge of the risk/benefits and the risks with alternatives. \ They get their information from tv and from enviro-weenies (who, I suspect, also get their information from tv). I’ve come to the conclusion recently that if we all want to keep eating for the rest of our natural lives, we are going to have to make nuclear power our main power source, and right quick. > [@gravitycrash](#): > > Fuck, so much for nuclear power making a comeback in the US. Bring on the goddamn windmills and solar panels! > > Man, the enviro-pussies won’t allow a shovel of dirt being moved in preparation for a new plant for the next 20 years if ever. Fuck. That’s my fear, too - all we’re going to hear for the next month is “Nuclear power bad! Look what happened in Japan!” > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > You know what else contains the power of the atomic nucleus? YOUR OWN BODY! > > AAGGGHHHHHHH RUN AND PANIC! There’s a big nuclear explosion going on all the time - right up there in the sky! And it’s deluging us every minute of every day with radiation! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/89 "2011-03-12T18:47:25Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > But they aren’t. On the contrary; coal plants pump out far more toxins and endanger civilization via global warming; nuclear power plants don’t. That’s a different issue. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/90 "2011-03-12T18:49:26Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Japan, you can be damn sure, designed, built and maintained that plant with 1000x more know-how and safety concern than the former USSR did with Chernobyl. . However, it seems that this particular plant already had cooling issues recently. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/91 "2011-03-12T18:52:44Z")
> [@Heyoka13](#): > > Fox just had a distant shot of the facility. It looks like the explosion blew all the concrete out of the containment structure, but left the steel frame and/or reinforcing. The building itself has been destroyed, the containment dome hasn’t been. ---
**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 12, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/92 "2011-03-12T18:53:41Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > They had a nuke expert on CNN today. He says they are pumping sea water into the core in order to cool the core and rods. The expert explained he never heard of a plant doing it and it is not part of the protocol. He thinks it smacks of desperation. I have no knowledge of what the Japanese reactors’ systems are, but from my experience with ones in Kankuistan, a reactor core isolation cooling system (i.e. flooding with external water) is used when the make-up water condensate system (i.e. the top-up of the regular circulating water that normally transfers heat from the reactor to the turbines) can not provide enough cooling. Desperation and not part of protocol? I doubt it very much, but such protocol is only used if the shit has hit the fan, as one would expect with a massive earthquake and tsunami. My guess is that their protocol was to flood in the event of a partial-meltdown causing the temp to get too high, as opposed to being desperate and jury-rigging a sea-water flood for lack of a protocol. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/93 "2011-03-12T18:54:33Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > That’s a different issue. If we are discussing long term damage (and many researchers report that CO2 and other GW gasses are already affecting us), yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/94 "2011-03-12T18:57:21Z")
The OP could make similar threads for mine collapses, airplane crashes, sunk boats, derailed trains, chemical spills, crop failures, or the metric fuckton of particulates pumped into the air from coal plants or automobile exhaust. Industrial civilization is messy – bring a bib. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/95 "2011-03-12T19:00:08Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > You know what else contains the power of the atomic nucleus? YOUR OWN BODY! > ! That’s a nonsentical statement. I understand you’ve decided that anybody worried about the risk caused by this accident must be mocked, but stating “there are also atoms in your body” is a ridiculous comparison. ---
**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 12, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/96 "2011-03-12T19:01:30Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > That’s a different issue. Not even a little. > [@Muffin](#): > > I have no knowledge of what the Japanese reactors’ systems are, but from my experience with ones in Kankuistan, a reactor core isolation cooling system (i.e. flooding with external water) is used when the make-up water condensate system (i.e. the top-up of the regular circulating water that normally transfers heat from the reactor to the turbines) can not provide enough cooling. Desperation and not part of protocol? I doubt it very much, but such protocol is only used if the shit has hit the fan, as one would expect with a massive earthquake and tsunami. My guess is that their protocol was to flood in the event of a partial-meltdown causing the temp to get too high, as opposed to being desperate and jury-rigging a sea-water flood for lack of a protocol. Are you talking about the [CANDU Reactors](http://www.aecl.ca/Resources/FAQ.htm) that are supplying approximately 15% of Canada’s electricity needs? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/97 "2011-03-12T19:05:46Z")
I believe the major problem at the moment is widespread DHMO contamination. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/98 "2011-03-12T19:09:33Z")
Just ran across this: [Japan’s nuclear power operator has checkered past](http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/us-japan-nuclear-operator-idUSTRE72B1B420110312). They’re increasing the size of the evacuation area, and authorities are planning on distributing iodine. Those damned enviro-weenies!!1! How’d they pull this off?? How??? ---
**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 12, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/99 "2011-03-12T19:09:47Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Are you talking about the [CANDU Reactors](http://www.aecl.ca/Resources/FAQ.htm) that are supplying approximately 15% of Canada’s electricity needs? Yup. Here in Ontario, it’s a tad over 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/100 "2011-03-12T19:10:17Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > That’s a nonsentical statement. I understand you’ve decided that anybody worried about the risk caused by this accident must be mocked, but stating “there are also atoms in your body” is a ridiculous comparison. Read an essay by Isaac Asimov called “The Enemy Within”, about the inescapable radioactive isotopes that permeate human DNA, as well as the environment in general. Cancers and other illnesses need not have an external triggering event. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=6)