# 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:** 85
**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:** [April 18, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1681 "2011-04-18T03:19:12Z")
Ah, I see where you are coming from. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1682 "2011-04-18T09:29:33Z")
robots checked inside reactors 1 and 3, coming back with radioactivity readings of up to 49 millisieverts per hour inside Unit 1 and up to 57 millisieverts per hour inside Unit 3. reactor 2 will be checked later. workers in the U.S. nuclear industry are allowed an upper limit of 50 millisieverts per year. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1683 "2011-04-18T13:27:32Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > robots checked inside reactors 1 and 3, coming back with radioactivity readings of up to 49 millisieverts per hour inside Unit 1 and up to 57 millisieverts per hour inside Unit 3. > > reactor 2 will be checked later. > > workers in the U.S. nuclear industry are allowed an upper limit of 50 millisieverts per year. Even in the US, robots are exempt from that limit. Don’t worry about the poor robots. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1684 "2011-04-18T19:11:00Z")
TEPCO confirms a partial meltdown in reactors 1,2 and 3. high radioactivity in the spent fuel pool of reactor 2 indicates possible damage to the fuel rods stored in there. electrical repairs, that have to be done by humans, to restore the cooling systems are not going to be done anytime soon. current radiation levels are far too high for humans. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1685 "2011-04-19T00:59:37Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > TEPCO confirms a partial meltdown in reactors 1,2 and 3. > > high radioactivity in the spent fuel pool of reactor 2 indicates possible damage to the fuel rods stored in there. > > electrical repairs, that have to be done by humans, to restore the cooling systems are not going to be done anytime soon. current radiation levels are far too high for humans. Why does it matter? The people exposed to radiation will not die immediately. That means they do not count. The workers are bravely doing a job that they know will kill them. Yet they do it, exposing themselves to horrible radiation. But it does not kill then today ,so they can not be counted. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1686 "2011-04-19T01:22:36Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Why does it matter? The people exposed to radiation will not die immediately. That means they do not count. The workers are bravely doing a job that they know will kill them. Yet they do it, exposing themselves to horrible radiation. But it does not kill then today ,so they can not be counted. While I know you love senseless death and tragedy, the rest of us would rather avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1687 "2011-04-19T02:12:16Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > While I know you love senseless death and tragedy, the rest of us would rather avoid it. Dumb post, congratulations. There have been plenty of people claiming because there are no workers lying dead in front of them, there are no deaths due to the Japanese nuke serial meltdowns. So many nuclear plant defenders, ignoring the truth to keep their preconceptions. They defend nuclear energy to the last mutation. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1688 "2011-04-19T04:14:50Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There have been plenty of people claiming because there are no workers lying dead in front of them, there are no deaths due to the Japanese nuke serial meltdowns. So show us someone has died from the “Japanese nuke serial meltdowns”. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1689 "2011-04-19T04:22:32Z")
That’s morbid. You want to see the dead bodies? Not going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1690 "2011-04-19T04:30:11Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > That’s morbid. You want to see the dead bodies? Not going to happen. You raped a strawman? That’s messed up. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1691 "2011-04-19T05:37:57Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > So show us someone has died from the “Japanese nuke serial meltdowns”. That’s sick man. Unless you are a complete idiot, you know two people already died at the plant from the tsunami caused disaster, as well as from one of the explosions. Using dead bodies to further your agenda, that’s sick. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1692 "2011-04-19T05:39:42Z")
Then there are the heroic workers, many of whom will probably die from radiation exposure, as they battle to stop the disaster from getting worse. But you don’t care about that, the only thing that matters to your kind, is that you get what you want, no matter what. You can pretend it’s “for mankind” or some other load of horseshit, but even you probably don’t believe that. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1693 "2011-04-19T05:49:32Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > You raped a strawman? That’s messed up. What’s really sick is making jokes about strawmen. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1694 "2011-04-19T11:27:26Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > That’s sick man. Unless you are a complete idiot, you know two people already died at the plant from the tsunami caused disaster, as well as from one of the explosions. Using dead bodies to further your agenda, that’s sick. Would that be the two people who died from head injuries during the tsunami, and the crane operator killed during the earthquake? i.e. people whose deaths were in no way whatsoever caused by nuclear energy, other than it was their place of work when an earthquake/tsunami struck. Because I agree, using their dead bodies to forward an agenda would be a twattish thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1695 "2011-04-19T13:41:35Z")
He’s probably talking about the two workers who died when during the explosions of the secondary containment buildings. AFAIK, no other workers have died or even been seriously injured due to radiation from this accident (several have been injured due to the industrial aspects). It will be years or decades before we know how many workers or civilians might get cancer from exposure (who wouldn’t have gotten cancer anyway). -XT ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1696 "2011-04-19T13:49:32Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > He’s probably talking about the two workers who died when during the explosions of the secondary containment buildings. I know it’s a bit bizarre asking you for a link for what you reckon fxm is talking about, but any chance of one? Because there’s fuck all point in asking him. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1697 "2011-04-19T13:55:22Z")
My apologies…I seem to have misremembered and conflated several different stories. I remember the article about two workers missing after the blast, but apparently you were right…looks like they died in the initial tsunami. From [here](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Tsunami-killed-2-workers-at-apf-317099401.html?x=0): > [@](#): > > TOKYO (AP) – A massive tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant also killed two workers there, the Japanese operator announced Sunday, confirming the first deaths at the complex. > > The two workers – a 21-year-old and a 24-year-old – had been missing since a massive March 11 earthquake spawned the wave, but their bodies were discovered only last week. Engineers have been scrambling to restore power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex in order to restart cooling systems and stabilize dangerously overheating reactors. > > “It pains me that these two young workers were trying to protect the power plant while being hit by the earthquake and tsunami,” Tokyo Electric Power Co. Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata said in a statement. So, you can’t really attribute either of these guys to the nuclear part of the accident either. -XT ---
**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:** [April 19, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1698 "2011-04-19T15:21:42Z")
Ah, I think I finally see. The only thing that counts to the defender of the true nuclear faith, is if “the radiation itself” actually kills anyone. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1699 "2011-04-19T15:24:28Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Ah, I think I finally see. The only thing that counts to the defender of the true nuclear faith, is if “the radiation itself” actually kills anyone. :rolleyes: Do you do a lot of drugs? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389/1700 "2011-04-19T15:36:16Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > Ah, I think I finally see. The only thing that counts to the defender of the true nuclear faith, is if “the radiation itself” actually kills anyone. Pop quiz for you: If an installer of wind turbines dies after falling from a turbine during installation, does this tell us anything about the inherent safety (or otherwise) of wind power? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=84) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-meltdown-holy-godzilla-noooo/574389.md?page=86)