Category Archives: Nuclear Power

Cleaning up a partial reactor meltdown

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Art Stone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3CWS1z_py4 Video of the process of removing the fuel from the Three Mile Island reactor

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power | 5 Comments

Fukushima #2 Reactor core has left the containment vessel?

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Art Stone

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/29/japan-lost-race-save-nuclear-reactor The Guardian is quoting Richard Lahey as a person who has worked at Fukushima who indicates that the change in radiation probably signals that the bottom of the containment vessel has been ablated and the molten fuel is now … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power, State of Fear-mongering | 1 Comment

Alpha, Beta, Gamma and you

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Art Stone

Washington Post Atomic science 101 and why the US State Department was wrong Japan’s current advice is that people stay more than 20 km away from the plants, and if they’re 20-30 km away, that they stay inside. First, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power | 1 Comment

The power distribution issue at Fukushima

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Art Stone

Over at the WSJ shortly after this thing started, I posted a benign comment using my real name explaining that Nuclear Plants don’t run using their own generated power – that they are reliant on outside power to operate, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power | 2 Comments

Concrete Ablation

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Art Stone

MIT Nuclear Information Site Suggested by my relative… It goes a bit more into depth about the actual process of a “meltdown” in the reactor vessel.   It’s not materially different than anything I’ve said to this point. It adds a … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power | 1 Comment

USS Ronald Reagan and Japan

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Art Stone

Michael “Savage” Weiner is getting more and more dangerous with his tyrades based on emotion, not facts.   I would not feel any sense of loss if he vanished from the radio airwaves. This week he called “for the head of … Continue reading →

Posted in American Politics, Energy, Internet Streaming, Nuclear Power, Radio Biz | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The MOX fuel in Reactor 3 – does it matter?

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Art Stone

There is much fretting over whether the MOX fuel in Fukushima Reactor 3 – if it has melt down or does melt down – is a bigger problem than the other problems. Let’s clear up some of the issues

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More on Spent fuel storage

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Art Stone

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/world/asia/18spent.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=world A great article – what the NY Times can be when it wants to… Details it brings out (or things correcting misunderstandings on my part)

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power, State of Fear-mongering | 4 Comments

Legal radiation limit too low? Just raise it!

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Art Stone

http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=18279 This isn’t really a crticism  – just bringing in some reality.   The Japanese authorities have raised the limit to 250 milliSieverts (mSv), or 1/4th of a Sievert.   1 Sievert is where you start getting sick and substantial increased risk … Continue reading →

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Criticaliity analogy

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Art Stone

So trying to reduce it to something your grandmother could understand, recognizing there are 1000 exceptions and caveats A nculear power reactor operates like a stagecoach going over a mountain. When things start up, you have to hook up the horses … Continue reading →

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What the financial markets are saying about Japan

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Art Stone

Japan’s stock market has lost about 20% in the past 2 days. Currency markets are very stable given the provocation.   The Bank of Japan is throwing everything that have to avoid a financial meltdown – very likely the Fed and … Continue reading →

Posted in American Politics, Energy, Nuclear Power, Obama Nation, State of Fear-mongering | 2 Comments

What is a Micro Sievert?

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Art Stone

A Micro Sievert  (µSv)  is 1 millionth of a Sievert.    A milisevert (mSv) is 1/1000 of a Sievert.   1 mSv = 10 rem  (the older unit of measure) A Sievert is a measure of radiation dose, taking into consideration the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power | 7 Comments

What happens when a spent fuel storage facility loses its cooling?

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Art Stone

NY Times coverage  A 1997 study by the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island described a worst-case disaster from uncovered spent fuel in a reactor cooling pool. It estimated 100 quick deaths would occur within a range of 500 miles … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power, State of Fear-mongering | 6 Comments

Fukushima Reactor #4 on fire

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Art Stone

At the start of the event, Reactor #4 was shut down for annual maintenance. So you’re probably wondering how #4 got into play? My antenna went up last night when someone wrote that #4 was not involved “yet”. Reactor #4 … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power | Tagged | 6 Comments

Weather forecast for Fukushima on Tuesday

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Art Stone

on Tuesday, the wind will be blowing from East to West. If anything goes boom, the cloud will head toward Korea and China

Posted in Energy, Nuclear Power, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment