[log in to unmask]" type="cite"> Hi all,
If you delay the necessary engineering action, things will get more and more dangerous - for Fukushima as for the Arctic.
Suppose there were an earthquake tomorrow. The spent fuel rods could cascade down and cluster where there's insufficient water coolant - and then the chain reaction will begin. Then you get a collosal burst of radioactivity in the atmosphere, and the plant cannot be approached, so cooling water overflows, nearby reactors get of of control, and there's an escalation of life-threatening horrors.
It's much the same with the sea ice. If it is allowed to disappear, the Arctic will warm inexorably. The methane will come out of permafrost sufficient to cause a chain reaction of further warming and methane release affecting global warming for the whole planet. At the same time, the jet stream will be disrupted to cause an ever deepening food crisis. And there's an escalation of life-threatening horrors.
But, if the authorities get a grip, and get the engineering done as quickly as possible, there's a reasonable chance to avoid descending into a hell for all. The choice exists.
Cheers,
John
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On 25/10/2012 20:21, Kevin Coleman wrote:[log in to unmask]" type="cite"> Hello John et al,
To add to your concerns re the Fukushima plant here is an article from IPS which I received today. Spooky that all these issues seem to all converge on the same point in time.
Kev C
http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/10/japan-struggling-to-store-nuclear-water/
On 25/10/2012 15:57, John Nissen wrote:
[log in to unmask]" type="cite">
I disagree, Edward. The authorities need to face the facts, join the dots and get a grip. Then they will be believed. The facts are that the spent fuel rods are still extremely dangerous. Note the "of course" comment thrown, as if everybody takes this as understood. The authorities need to get the best possible engineers onto solving the problem of how to deal with the spent fuel rods. And it's desperately urgent because (Gavin tells me) the earthquakes of a magnitude that might disrupt the fuel rods occur on average once a year or so! I am just waiting for the bad news to come - and it will be really bad, like the evacuation of Japan.
I don't think this denial of extreme danger is anything to do with culture - it's part of the human psyche. The greater the danger, the greater the denial and the more irrational the response - generally a paralysis! We have the same thing over the Arctic: complete denial of the extreme danger from the sea ice disappearing. That's why I'm interested in the psychology of Fukushima - so we can all learn lessons to apply to the Arctic crisis, where there is denial writ large everywhere and total paralysis as a result. As yet, nobody in authority (and I include scientific advisers) is facing the facts, joining the dots and getting a grip, as the Arctic sea ice enters a death spiral. The solution - geoengineering to cool the Arctic - is staring us in the face. But the solution gets denied along with the problem! There's the human psyche for you.
Cheers,
John
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On 25/10/2012 09:41, Edward Borodzicz wrote:[log in to unmask]" type="cite">Hi,One major problem for the operators and state authorities in japan, is that even if they did face up to their responsibilities, would any one there believe them, what is required is a wholesale change in the way senior posts are appointed to one of competency rather than relationships! In the far east this is a cultural problem, the question is has Fukushima been bad enough to change this?Edward
>>> John Nissen <[log in to unmask]> 25/10/2012 03:45 >>>
Hi Gavin,
Have you seen the Reuters report about Fukushima from Vienna: http://planetark.org/wen/66945 ?
"The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), has taken extra safeguards and reinforcement measures concerning the spent fuel pool of Fukushima's No. 4 reactor in order for it to withstand any new earthquake, Oshima said."
It seems that there's a glimmer of hope that the authorities are facing up to the remaining extreme danger ("of course") from the spent fuel rods; though one wonders what the Reuters journalist was seeing and whether these extra safeguards and measures have actually been taken.
Cheers,
John
-- "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare." Japanese Proverb