3 ms·

It is remarkable how France has been getting something like 80% of their power from nukes for decades without any major accidents.

natmaka 2y ago
Nuclear nowadays produces ~70% of France's electricity and renewables are booming: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line?time=2001..latest&country=~FRA https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewa... Two close calls (level 4) in 1969 and 1980 (at Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Laurent_Nuclear_Power_Plant#Incidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Laurent_Nuclear_Power_Pl...
rurban 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Blayais_Nuclear_Power_Plant_flood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Blayais_Nuclear_Power_Pla... was major
- mrbn100ful 2y ago
  "Resulting in a Level 2 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale." A level 2 on the INES is an Incident. A major Accident would be a level 7. A level 2 is not that bad : Impact on people and environment: Exposure of a member of the public in excess of 10 mSv. Exposure of a worker in excess of the statutory annual limits. Impact on radiological barriers and control: Radiation levels in an operating area of more than 50 mSv/h. Significant contamination within the facility into an area not expected by design. Impact on defence-in-depth: Significant failures in safety provisions but with no actual consequences. Found highly radioactive sealed orphan source, device or transport package with safety provisions intact. Inadequate packaging of a highly radioactive sealed source.
Hypergraphe 2y ago
I agree. I think this is due to the following rules : 1. run everything above the standards without compromise. 2. having a production-independant control organization to monitor that everything is done according to 1. And that has the power to shutdown a plant.
blitzar 2y ago
Yet their economy, growth, industry, society etc is all basically the same as their fossil fuel burning brother and sister nations. Things might be different this time but it turns out that so far, how you make electricity doesn't have much impact on the cost and human progress. Perhaps a future when there are excesses and scarcity on a minute by minute basis things will be different but we will have to wait and see.

natmaka 2y ago

Nuclear nowadays produces ~70% of France's electricity and renewables are booming: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line?time=2001..latest&country=~FRA https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewa... Two close calls (level 4) in 1969 and 1980 (at Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Laurent_Nuclear_Power_Plant#Incidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Laurent_Nuclear_Power_Pl...

rurban 2y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Blayais_Nuclear_Power_Plant_flood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Blayais_Nuclear_Power_Pla... was major

mrbn100ful 2y ago
"Resulting in a Level 2 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale." A level 2 on the INES is an Incident. A major Accident would be a level 7. A level 2 is not that bad : Impact on people and environment: Exposure of a member of the public in excess of 10 mSv. Exposure of a worker in excess of the statutory annual limits. Impact on radiological barriers and control: Radiation levels in an operating area of more than 50 mSv/h. Significant contamination within the facility into an area not expected by design. Impact on defence-in-depth: Significant failures in safety provisions but with no actual consequences. Found highly radioactive sealed orphan source, device or transport package with safety provisions intact. Inadequate packaging of a highly radioactive sealed source.

Hypergraphe 2y ago

I agree. I think this is due to the following rules : 1. run everything above the standards without compromise. 2. having a production-independant control organization to monitor that everything is done according to 1. And that has the power to shutdown a plant.

blitzar 2y ago

Yet their economy, growth, industry, society etc is all basically the same as their fossil fuel burning brother and sister nations. Things might be different this time but it turns out that so far, how you make electricity doesn't have much impact on the cost and human progress. Perhaps a future when there are excesses and scarcity on a minute by minute basis things will be different but we will have to wait and see.