4 ms·

Is there any progress in design of nuclear fission power plants regarding safety? Fukushima was build in the 70s, so it might have been a bit outdated (as a la

Is there any progress in design of nuclear fission power plants regarding safety? Fukushima was build in the 70s, so it might have been a bit outdated (as a layman I have no idea). Was there any significant progress in design of nuclear power plants since then? Can they be shut down more quickly and reliably? Given enough R&D, could safety of nuclear fission power plants be improved further or is that very unlikely?

madacol 4y ago
Is there a good estimate / measure of the safety problems of fukushima? In wikipedia it says that only 1 person has died from cancer, while >2000 died from the evacuation itself It seems that being less aggressive with evacuations and letting some people be exposed to radiation would have actually save more lives Though maybe that's only in hindsight?. Maybe at the time there was a considerable risk of something terrible but didn't happen?
dmitriid 4y ago
> Is there any progress in design of nuclear fission power plants regarding safety? > Fukushima... You mean, hit by the most powerful earthquake recorded in Japan, flooded by a tsunami with 13-14 meter-high waves, evacuated, failed to shutdown, had three core meltdowns and several explosions, and resulted in... 1 death from radiation, 2000 deaths from evacuation and 45 radiation-resulted injuries. I'd say even this outdated design was very, very, very safe.
- pfdietz 4y ago
  > 1 death from radiation So far. The population dose will likely cause many more fatal cancers than that (maybe 200?). That those will be impossible to detect above the normal cancer background doesn't mean we can pretend they aren't there.
  - dmitriid 4y ago
    So, after a full-scale catastrophe it's still significantly fewer casualties than from normal operation of coal, for example.
    - pfdietz 4y ago
      "Cleaner/safer than coal" is damning with faint praise.
      - nopzor 4y ago
        true, but for the pro-nuclear folk who are frustrated by the “fear factor”, it’s a really important point.
        pfdietz 4y ago
        Nuclear fans focus on the "fear factor" so they can pretend that's what's holding back nuclear.
- zigzag312 4y ago
  Our seismological record-keeping is still very young so, most powerful in recorded history of Japan sounds more impressive that it probably is. I know that current statistics regarding nuclear power safety are very good. The reason I am asking is because I often see comparisons between latest or even future renewables technology and decades old nuclear and I am wondering if progress on nuclear has already peaked/stalled.

madacol 4y ago

Is there a good estimate / measure of the safety problems of fukushima? In wikipedia it says that only 1 person has died from cancer, while >2000 died from the evacuation itself It seems that being less aggressive with evacuations and letting some people be exposed to radiation would have actually save more lives Though maybe that's only in hindsight?. Maybe at the time there was a considerable risk of something terrible but didn't happen?

dmitriid 4y ago

> Is there any progress in design of nuclear fission power plants regarding safety? > Fukushima... You mean, hit by the most powerful earthquake recorded in Japan, flooded by a tsunami with 13-14 meter-high waves, evacuated, failed to shutdown, had three core meltdowns and several explosions, and resulted in... 1 death from radiation, 2000 deaths from evacuation and 45 radiation-resulted injuries. I'd say even this outdated design was very, very, very safe.

pfdietz 4y ago
> 1 death from radiation So far. The population dose will likely cause many more fatal cancers than that (maybe 200?). That those will be impossible to detect above the normal cancer background doesn't mean we can pretend they aren't there.
- dmitriid 4y ago
  So, after a full-scale catastrophe it's still significantly fewer casualties than from normal operation of coal, for example.
  - pfdietz 4y ago
    "Cleaner/safer than coal" is damning with faint praise.
    - nopzor 4y ago
      true, but for the pro-nuclear folk who are frustrated by the “fear factor”, it’s a really important point.
      - pfdietz 4y ago
        Nuclear fans focus on the "fear factor" so they can pretend that's what's holding back nuclear.
zigzag312 4y ago
Our seismological record-keeping is still very young so, most powerful in recorded history of Japan sounds more impressive that it probably is. I know that current statistics regarding nuclear power safety are very good. The reason I am asking is because I often see comparisons between latest or even future renewables technology and decades old nuclear and I am wondering if progress on nuclear has already peaked/stalled.