3 ms·
Hi, just to point out a hole in your reasoning, if these reactors are so safe then why even a small portion of the radioactivity escaping the containment shell
by lmilcin 9y ago
Hi, just to point out a hole in your reasoning, if these reactors are so safe then why even a small portion of the radioactivity escaping the containment shell can cause such a big disaster like Fukushima or Chernobyl?
Now, I understand there are differences in size and the level of radioactivity used (they won't be driven as close to prompt criticality as the power reactors) and they may be designed to be less reliant on active protection (pushing a lot of water as required means to prevent disaster).
But still, this is radioactive material in Earth orbit where stuff tends to fall back after some time and we don't always control when and where it reaches us.
- Kutta 9y ago> small portion of the radioactivity escaping the containment shell The Chernobyl reactor was very unsafe by modern standards, it did not have a containment vessel and tens of tons of reactor material was blown into the air, not a small amount.
- natch 9y agoYeah, that's what happens. Tons of reactor material gets released. Not by humans, but by physical processes. And your comment conveniently ignores Fukushima.
- nine_k 9y agoTo actually blow the Chernobyl reactor, the personnel explicitly disabled quite a few safety systems that otherwise would not allow for a runaway reaction which led to a mighty (thermal and chemical) explosion.