Unless you live under a rock you have probably seen the news regarding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan. First of all, I wish everyone in Japan the best, and I know that they will recover and come back even better than before this terrible event.
I am certainly not an expert on nuclear power, but I do consider myself a thinker, and an intelligent person. I have some issues and questions regarding the issues in Japan, and nuclear design in general. The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is right on the coastline. Why is this? They must have known that a tsunami was possible in that area because they get earthquakes all the time. They also get typhoons every year between May and October. Did they actually think that this plant was impervious to these natural disasters? I'm not bashing Japan, or the experts that built this facility; I just don't know what their thinking was. But with my small amount of knowledge I can tell you that if water inundates this plant, or any plant, it will render most electronics unusable; and then what? Using sea water as a coolant was a great idea, and of course they have plenty of that around. I'm also sure that every expert in Japan and around the world has offered their expertise. I also haven't heard much about this, but there must be many employees at this plant risking their lives to put any and all ideas into action. These men and women are heroes just like any policeman, fireman, or serviceman.
I think nuclear power is a great thing, don't get me wrong. I live 25 miles away from the only nuclear power plant in Iowa and I have never given it a second thought. But now I have some serious questions about the design of nuclear plants. A few years ago there was a F5 tornado 75 miles north of the nuclear power plant in my area. What would have happened if this tornado hit this power plant? Not only can an f5 tornado chew up EVERYTHING in it's path, it can even tear up pavement from roads. So I have no doubt that it could rip a nuclear reactor core from the ground and throw it miles away. What are the contingencies for that?
Why don't they put them far underground? Not only would this muffle an explosion, but it's naturally cooler underground.
If the reactors in Japan are melting down as I'm writing this, why don't they just fill the whole metal containment structure with cement?
Why is water basically the only coolant used for cooling the core? Something as simple as dry ice, which is a solid form of carbon dioxide, has been used as a cooling agent in other areas for many, many years. And of course freon has also been widely used as a cooling agent.
Where does the sea water go after it has been in contact with the core? I'm sure that 100% of this sea water is not evacuated as steam. So where does the tainted water go? Back out to sea? What are the consequences of that?
So those are my concerns, anybody else wonder about this stuff?
