“TOKYO – Tokyo Electric Power Co. shut down three major generators at the world’s biggest nuclear power plant after a powerful earthquake in Japan on Monday caused a brief fire in one of the units, company officials said.
“TEPCO, Asia’s biggest utility, added that 1.5 litres of water containing radioactive materials had leaked from a unit closed for maintenance at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant…
Read the article at Planet Ark: http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43118/story.htm
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.
It would appear that automatic shut down measures are robust. They would need to be in such a geologically unstable area.
Still makes me wonder…
“The contaminated water was released into the ocean and had had no effect on the environment, TEPCO said in a statement. The company had previously said there had been no radiation leaks at the plant, where reactors automatically shut down for checks.”
Fingers crossed.
Well, that should do it for the best source of non-carbon energy–nuclear power. Now, the emotional left-wingers will whine about the evils of nuclear power and won’t be satisfied until we’re forced back to the stone age.
That would actually have to take the cake for sheer blinkered bloody mindedness.
The average punter is really worried about leaks from nuclear plants (rational or not), so noting the absence of anti-nuke rhetoric right wing extremists like Woody could have just let it quietly pass, but no – here’s Woody having a go on the same-old same-old cold war cruddola. zzzzzz
Even at a China syndrome event Woody would be saying “Yes well that may be of some small concern but what about those lefties eh eh eh”.
No wonder there’s earthquakes.
The left still whines about all things nuclear, and I read it any time that alternative power sources are discussed. They still bring up Three Mile Island where safety controls and procedures did what? Anyone? Anyone? Where safety procedures worked.
I just anticipated the complaint and beat them to the punch. You know it’s there.
Woody – I accept that modern nuclear plants are acceptably safe if they are built properly.
My objections to nuclear power are:
1. Waste disposal
2. Nuclear proliferation
3. Nuclear power does not encourage energy efficiency.
Yikes! Doesn’t Japan rest on 4 tectonic plates?
Still, nuclear power is preferable to energy poverty. George Olah reckons Methanol is the answer:
http://www.technologyreview.com/BizTech/wtr_16466,296,p1.html