# Rantings about stupid nuclear reporting, and I want to bitchslap somebody, also other crap **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077 "2011-03-26T19:11:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**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 29, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/301 "2011-03-29T15:58:25Z")
And back in the world of reality… > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (AP) - Long before the nuclear emergency in Japan, U.S. regulators knew that a power failure lasting for days at an American nuclear plant, whatever the cause, could lead to a radioactive leak. Even so, they have only required the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors to develop plans for dealing with much shorter blackouts on the assumption that power would be restored quickly. > > In one nightmare simulation presented by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2009, **it would take less than a day for radiation to escape from a reactor at a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant after an earthquake, flood or fire knocked out all electrical power** and there was no way to keep the reactors cool after backup battery power ran out. That plant, the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, has reactors of the same older make and model as those releasing radiation at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which is using other means to try to cool the reactors. [http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110329&id=13234507](http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110329&id=13234507) So the same situation exists at many many other nuclear plants, with the same disaster possible. Of course the plants on the coast of Japan are at extreme risks, because another big tsunami could cause the same problem at many more reactors. This level of insanity is indicative of the mentality that simply doesn’t think about possibilities, because “they are too awful to think about”. Like the current clusterfuck of unimaginable danger. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/302 "2011-03-29T16:11:31Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There is talk that Japan is thinking of nationalizing the nuclear plants. That is a wise first step. Well, if the government and taxpayers have to take all the risk and then bail out the fourth largest power company in the world, why shouldn’t the taxpayers and government own it? I’d like to see that. It’s just Tepco though, and it’s only one person in government who has mentioned it, and it was quickly denied by the government, so I’d be surprised to see it actually happen. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/303 "2011-03-29T17:14:10Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > And back in the world of reality… > > [http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110329&id=13234507](http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110329&id=13234507) > > So the same situation exists at many many other nuclear plants, with the same disaster possible. Of course the plants on the coast of Japan are at extreme risks, because another big tsunami could cause the same problem at many more reactors. > > This level of insanity is indicative of the mentality that simply doesn’t think about possibilities, because “they are too awful to think about”. I’ll be the first to agree that Generation II reactors should be being phased out in favor of Generation III+ and IV reactors. It’s essentially common knowledge among people who know what the hell they’re talking about that a long or medium-term power failure at a Generation II reactor will cause at least a partial meltdown. Unfortunately, as you probably know if you’ve looked at this at all, the regulatory climate and popular opinion in the US are such that it’s not terribly plausible to build new nuclear plants and has not been for some time. Primarily this is because of retarded fearmongering about nuclear power in general, rather than concentrating on the specific flaws and risks associated with the various generations of reactor technology. > [@](#): > > Like the current clusterfuck of unimaginable danger. This is the kind of alarmist bullshit that doesn’t help. The current clusterfuck’s danger level is perfectly imaginable. It’s being monitored by the IAEA. There is a risk of exposure, there is a risk associated with the radioactive materials released. That risk is not currently large, and is in the “some elevated cancer rates in a limited area” range rather than the “face melting off like the end of Raiders” range. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/304 "2011-03-29T17:43:07Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > The current clusterfuck’s danger level is perfectly imaginable. It’s being monitored by the IAEA. There is a risk of exposure, there is a risk associated with the radioactive materials released. That risk is not currently large, and is in the “some elevated cancer rates in a limited area” range rather than the “face melting off like the end of Raiders” range. Yep, the current situation is bad in many ways, and there are things we don’t know yet, and things that might happen that could make things worse, but the irrational fearmongering of morons like **FXMastermind** and **The Second Stone** (aka Nancy Grace) really don’t help anyone’s understanding of the situation. It’s also rather paradoxical, given that the OP of this thread claims to want accurate and informed reporting, yet provides nothing but teeth-gnashing jeremiads completely divorced from reality. I like to read the transcript of the [Union of Concerned Scientists daily press briefing](http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_power/nuclear_power_risk/safety/japan-nuclear-crisis-briefings.html?utm_source=SP&utm_medium=link2&utm_campaign=japan-nuclear-crisis-link2-3-15-11), because i think it provides a solid, expert-driven summary of many of the main issues, provided by a group that is, in its main policy positions, quite critical of nuclear power safety standards and also unconvinced about the need to have nuclear power as a centerpiece of our future energy needs. These folks are not gung-ho cheerleaders for nuclear energy. And yet, reading [yesterday’s briefing](http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_power/nuclear_power_risk/safety/nuclear-crisis-japan-telepress-transcript-03-28-11.html), it becomes clear that these folks are nowhere near as alarmist about the current situation as **FX** and **Nancy** and **gonzomax** (maybe we could just calls them The Three Nancys). The scientists interviewed here acknowledge that the situation is bad, that there is significant radiation leakage at the plant, that it’s not clear where all the radiation is coming from, and that it is having an effect outside the plant. I don’t think anyone is denying this anyway, despite the straw men constantly set up by the Nancys. For the UCS commenters, however, the most important danger to health right now is clearly that faced by the plant workers themselves. The UCS guys are quite worried about the safety of the workers, and also quite critical of some of the safety procedures in place at the plant. Most importantly, these experts are quite clear that a lot of what they’re saying is based on limited information, and that there are many things that they can’t be positive about because the main job at the plant so far has been simply trying to contain the situation, and there hasn’t been time to really do much more than try to keep things cool and get power back up and running. It is really too early to say exactly how severe the long-term consequences outside the plant will be, because this will depend on a variety of factors that are not yet really clear even to the experts. They’re not saying everything is hunky-dory and we have nothing to worry about—in fact, in a few places, they readily concede that things could be pretty bad—but they’re also not going to get all alarmist until they actually have enough information upon which to base a reasonable conclusion. For example, here are some of their comments on the issue of plutonium in the current crisis: > [@](#): > > DR. LYMAN: This is Ed Lyman. > > I haven’t seen – I just saw the report of the plutonium detected, but I haven’t seen any reports about the levels. > > I’d have to say that there were – some of the sampling that we’ve done over the weekend indicated the presence of a radioactive isotope called cerium 144, and this is significant, because cerium 144 is not a volatile isotope, like iodine or cesium, and as such, to find any indication of it is an indication that there was damage to the solid part of the fuel and some release of fuel materials. > > This could have been from the spent fuel pool or the reactor. My suspicion is this may be an indication of damage from the spent fuel, because if spent fuel is exposed to air, as we’ve discussed in previous calls, that can cause expansion of the fuel itself and crumbling of the fuel. And so there may be some small fuel particles that have actually been released from the spent fuel pool if there has been significant damage to that fuel. > > You wouldn’t expect more than a few percent of that material to actually get into the environment. After Chernobyl, when there was a mass explosion that caused physical damage to the fuel, only about 3 percent or so of the so-called low-volatility isotopes were released, but I think with the indication that there was cerium, I’m not surprised that other low-volatile isotopes, like plutonium, are going to be discovered. and > [@](#): > > REPORTER: Sorry. I was on mute. I wanted to follow up on the plutonium question. Our Japanese-speaking reporter, who was listening to the press conference, said that they said that they had found it in soil, and the translation is that the radioactive substance shouldn’t have any impact on human health. > > How easily might this plutonium migrate if it’s not in a puddle of water on concrete and has, in fact, gotten into the soil? > > DR. LYMAN: This is Ed Lyman. > > That depends on the plutonium chemistry. It’s a very difficult question. Plutonium in the environment can form colloids, which can be transported more widely in groundwater; however, under certain conditions, it’s very insoluble in groundwater and can be sorbed onto materials like clays. So, it’s really highly dependent on the geochemistry of a particular site. and > [@](#): > > REPORTER: Yes, hi. Good morning. > > TEPCO is confirming that plutonium has been found in the soil on the nuclear facility property. Does this complicate cleanup efforts and signal that the problem is getting worse, not better? > > DR. LYMAN: This is Ed Lyman. > > Correct me if I’m wrong, but these are samples that were taken a week ago? Is that what they said? > > REPORTER: I don’t have the details. I think so, yes. > > DR. LYMAN: Yeah. So, that doesn’t tell us much about what’s happened in the last week. > > Again, what I speculated before is that it’s more likely this has come from spent fuel damage in the pool than material from the reactor core, but with regard to cleanup, plutonium is a much – it’s a longer-lived isotope than even cesium 137, and so the presence of plutonium does present an additional hazard and complicates it and would require more expensive cleanup. > > There have been sites in the United States that have had plutonium contamination that have been successfully remediated, like the Rocky Flatts plant in California, and that, you know, is an expensive and difficult enterprise. Plutonium, when it becomes aerosolized and inhaled, is a particularly potent carcinogen, and so you need additional respiratory protection if there’s significant plutonium that could potentially be inhaled. So, I think it does add another wrinkle to the 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 29, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/305 "2011-03-29T17:46:55Z")
> [@](#): > > American experts fear one of these pools is already dry. Nesheiwat told “60 Minutes” the danger is multiplied because the reactors are so close to each other. > “That is a grave concern at this time. If there is an explosion, if there is a meltdown, a fire, it can absolutely affect the neighboring plants,” she told Pelley. > Asked what that would mean, she said, “ **Goodness, I don’t even want to think what that could mean**. That’s just something that we would have to really plan for it at the greatest scale. And we’re hoping and praying that that’s not the case.” [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/20/60minutes/main20045131.shtml](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/20/60minutes/main20045131.shtml) ---
**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 29, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/306 "2011-03-29T17:52:34Z")
Realizing that the pro nuke moonbats won’t bother to read the whole story, much less watch the video, this was an interview with a top level US official. > [@](#): > > One of the Americans responding to the emergency is Julia Nesheiwat. She’s a State Department official who was already in Japan working on nuclear issues. She served in Washington as deputy chief of staff to the director of national intelligence. In Tokyo, she’s been on the Fukushima disaster from the start. > “We’re providing the full resources of the United States government, everything we’ve got?” Pelley asked. > “Yes. Absolutely,” Nesheiwat said. > “Our best people are on this?” Pelley asked. > “Yes they are,” she said. “Working non-stop around the clock in each of the operations centers.” [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/20/60minutes/main20045131.shtml](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/20/60minutes/main20045131.shtml) She didn’t make it up when she said she didn’t want to think about it. Nobody wants to think about it. Having 6 reactors out of control, melting down, exploding, fuel rods on fire and spewing radiation at a level nobody wants to even imagine, that is exactly what is going on, when everyone refuses to describe the worst case scenario. It actually would be beyond disaster. Hell, even I don’t like thinking about it. It actually would be too terrible to imagine. Hopefully, it will remain that way. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/307 "2011-03-29T17:53:12Z")
_sigh_ That article was from March 20th. Have the pools holding the spent fuel rods exploded yet FXM? Just curious if I missed it… -XT ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/308 "2011-03-29T18:02:05Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > _sigh_ That article was from March 20th. Have the pools holding the spent fuel rods exploded yet FXM? Just curious if I missed it… > > -XT To quote the UCS scientist in the selection i posted a little while ago: > [@](#): > > DR. LYMAN: Yeah. So, that doesn’t tell us much about what’s happened in the last week. ---
**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 29, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/309 "2011-03-29T18:03:34Z")
That rabid nuclear moonbats don’t get it, that is understandable. I can’t blame a true believer for refusing to watch a video interview with a top nuclear official. But when you realize the top officials simply don’t want to think about it, much less prepare any way to deal with it, that is where it gets fucked up. There isn’t any plan, much less equipment and resources, ready to go, for a single reactor disaster. Nothing is in place, no drills have been done, there isn’t even a plan to start a plan, to deal with an emergency situation, IN JUST ONE REACTOR problem. No there are four critically damaged reactors, and shitload of damaged fuel pools, and there is simply nothing ready to deal with it. Not only is there no technology ready, there probably isn’t any way to create technology for this. Quite simply, they can’t discover what is happening, because the radiation level is too high for a human, or a robot, or even a camera on a stick to see what is happening. Which is why over two week after this terrific fuck up has happened, they simply don’t know what is going on. That won’t bother a true believer, but it bothers a rational person. That is insane. It’s the worst kind of situation possible. Extreme danger, and no way to know what the danger actually is. It seems they can’t even sample the steam coming out of the multitudes of holes and unknown areas, to find out what the isotopes are there. Which would at least give some idea of how bad it is. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/310 "2011-03-29T18:04:17Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > _sigh_ That article was from March 20th. Have the pools holding the spent fuel rods exploded yet FXM? Just curious if I missed it… > > -XT You’ve shown time and time again you’re expert at missing current headlines and denying everything as it happens, even as it’s happening. Are you still denying that there is any radiation from \*inside \*the plants, now on the outside? You had me laughing all yesterday over that one. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/311 "2011-03-29T18:07:34Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] To quote the UCS scientist in the selection i posted a little while ago: [/QUOTE] lol…yeah, no doubt. FWIW, that was a good post…lots of decent info in there. It was pearls in the mud here, but I appreciate it. I know what he’s doing…he’s madly Googling anything to do with what’s going on in Japan and then cherry picking what he thinks is the most scary articles to spew out here and in the other threads to try and prove whatever point he thinks he’s making (probably ‘Nuclear is teh evilux!!’). And he’s not even checking to see what the date stamp is, since if it sounds scary enough folks like gonzomax aren’t going to bother checking to see if the information is even up to date…they will just join in the echo chamber. I’ve been checking too, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of new information coming out. the IAEA site, last I checked, hadn’t been updated since yesterday on their Japan section. Most of the regular news sources are just spouting the same stuff they did yesterday, though some of them are starting to go with more frantic language, while at the same time the story is slipping off the main pages of a lot of news websites. -XT ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/312 "2011-03-29T18:12:04Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] You’ve shown time and time again you’re expert at missing current headlines and denying everything as it happens, even as it’s happening. Are you still denying that there is any radiation from inside the plants, now on the outside? You had me laughing all yesterday over that one. [/QUOTE] You would have to have the ability to actually read what I said, instead of what you think I said. I said that there has, afaik, been no report of large scale high level radioactive leaks reported…and, sure enough, there still hasn’t been. There have been some reports of highly radioactive radiation IN THE PLANT, and there have been some reports (2 out of 5 soil samples IIRC) that show low levels of plutonium and other radioactive elements in low concentrations outside the plant. And obviously there have been reports of airborn radiation in the ground water in several, more distant locations, as well as reports of small scale contamination above the legal limits in certain farm produce. When there is more information, which is what I was asking for, feel free to provide it. Unlike you, I don’t have much preconceptions cast in stone…I KNOW that this has been a bad accident, and that it continues, and that bad things might still happen. I’m just not willing to wank off every time some scrap of news comes out and jump to the worst possible conclusion. Unlike, oh, say you. If I made you laugh yesterday, however, then I feel like I’ve accomplished something, even if the amusement would have been better spent on yourself and your dreadful lack of reading comprehension skills… -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:** [March 29, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/313 "2011-03-29T18:16:01Z")
I ranted about the 60 minutes show right after it came on the air [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13595161&postcount=674](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13595161&postcount=674) The points were ignored then as well. Which is why I consider a lot of posts trolls here. Anything to avoid discussing the issues. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/314 "2011-03-29T18:17:53Z")
Just for drill, here (again) is what I actually said: [QUOTE=Me] Do you have a cite that shows it’s been set to level 7? A quick Google search shows me the Greenpeace reference Finn mentioned and a bunch of whacky anti-nuke sites ranting about how it’s really an 8 or a 10 now, blah blah blah. I haven’t heard that there is deadly levels of radioactive material outside of the containment BUILDING, but some of the water outside of the containment VESSEL are certainly very high (1000 mSv/hour is what I was reading earlier…that’s definitely serious contamination since if you were there for an hour you would certainly be in danger of serious radiation poisoning). [/QUOTE] So…no cite showing that it’s been upgraded to a level 7 has, as yet, been forthcoming. What happened to that? Care to comment, levdrakon? And I STILL haven’t heard that ‘there is deadly levels of radioactive material outside of the containment BUILDING’. Do you happen to have a cite showing that there is? Which part of my statement did you NOT understand…perhaps I can translate it for you? And note…my request for a cite was for the assertion that the emergency had been upgraded to level 7. I merely said I hadn’t heard anything about the other (and, as of today I STILL haven’t). -XT ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/315 "2011-03-29T18:20:54Z")
Does anyone besides me feel that the inability to make use of paragraphs goes hand in hand with the inability to form a coherent argument? ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/316 "2011-03-29T18:26:02Z")
[QUOTE=FXMastermind] The points were ignored then as well. Which is why I consider a lot of posts trolls here. [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: Seriously man…are you crazy and stupid, or just stupid? Let me translate for you…from your cite: > [@](#): > > “That is a grave concern at this time. If there is an explosion, if there is a meltdown, a fire, it can absolutely affect the neighboring plants,” she told Pelley. It’s now the 29th of March. By using a clever technique called ‘subtraction’, I calculate that this was 9 days ago. So…has there been a large explosion of the pools holding the spent fuel rods? Has there been a full on meltdown and fire? Has this catastrophe affected the neighboring plants? Do you anticipate that it will any day now…and for how long will you continue to wait in hopeful anticipation of this coming disaster? Did you know that they actually got water into those pools shortly after that article came out? Do you think this might affect the progression of the event since then, or would have no effect at all? Do you think that the folks who made those statement then (to recap, 9 days ago) still feel that this is a primary issue today, or do you think they might see OTHER things as being of more importance now. Like, oh, say the contaminated water issue (the water that they were worried about not being in the pools)?? -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:** [March 29, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/317 "2011-03-29T18:29:43Z")
“Some men … you just can’t reach.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/318 "2011-03-29T18:31:14Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > “Some men … you just can’t reach.” Boy howdy. ---
**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 29, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/319 "2011-03-29T18:32:51Z")
Maybe I need to dumb it down. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077/320 "2011-03-29T18:34:29Z")
If you got any dumber then your automatic nervous systems would shut down and you’d stop breathing. For your own health I urge you to keep at least two or three neurons rubbing together, even if the smoke is disturbing you. -XT [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rantings-about-stupid-nuclear-reporting-and-i-want-to-bitchslap-somebody-also-other-crap/576077.md?page=17)