Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    m_c said:

    @ICBM have you ever seen the documentary about Fukishima?

    When I watched it, I was absolutely dumbfounded that so called engineers would build a nuclear plant on a tidal wave prone coast, and then put all the backup generators in the basement.

    Yes. And designed a system where not only the cooling system was driven by the same system it was cooling - hence the need for backup generators - but that the reactors couldn't be restarted without the same backup generators, so there was then a critical single point of failure in the system.

    A total lack of failure-mode analysis and thinking-through, basically. Apparently more backup generators had been added further up the hill, out of reach of the tsunami, but the switchgear that allowed them to be connected into the system was still down with the original ones in the basement. Doh.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • m_cm_c Frets: 1211

    I think all power stations require outside power to startup/shut down, as it takes quite a bit of power to get things going and then stopped again, with them only producing usable power under quite a specific set of conditions.

     From what I remember from my tour of Torness several years ago, there's a generator capable of powering the entire site located at each corner of the site, and then should something really go wrong, there's enough gas/chemicals on site to freeze the core for quite some time. I could always ask my uncle, since he used to be chief engineer there.

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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    I don't know about nuclear but gas power stations certainly need external power to get the whole thing running (either electricity from the grid, or a diesel generator to get the turbines moving). 

    In other news, there are plans to put a massive solar plant in the exclusion zone. It gets good sunshine, and the land is going to much use for anything else for a very long time so seems ideal.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/12/solar-power-to-rise-from-chernobyls-nuclear-ashes
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • NiteflyNitefly Frets: 4902
    What an incredible feat of both engineering and international co-operation.

    Seems that when we've got a collective gun at our heads, we can work together to find solutions. 

    Must admit to giving a cheer when the thing actually docked in place. 

    Thanks a lot for the post @ChrisMusic  immensely interesting.  
    This, absolutely - what a brilliant use of engineering.
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  • ChrisMusicChrisMusic Frets: 1133
    The BBC have extended the availability of this program until mid Feb 2017, so if you missed it before it really is well worth watching.  Knowing Auntie Beeb, I suspect that it will be available periodically beyond that as well.

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  • GarthyGarthy Frets: 2268
    Thanks for the heads up on this, my young lad found it fascinating.
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  • Wowsers! A fairly unreported undertaking that should surely rank as one of the greatest feats of modern human engineering?

    Next stop Fukishima?
    littlegreenman < My tunes here...
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  • valevale Frets: 1052
    I was there last year - not long before they finished construction of the arch. 

    It's a fascinating place. Wildlife is absolutely thriving now there is so little interference from us. My main takeaway is that whatever we do to the planet, the planet and most wildlife will be fine, but we will be screwed.

    i'm pretty cool with that. bring it on.
    yeah, on an immediate level it's sad when a person dies, etc. poor us. but in the grander scheme of 'what is good for the planet', i often think the human species is overstaying its welcome. that we are basically too fucked up and violent and selfish as a species to deserve to be around anymore. nice individuals exists, but our cumulative effect is generally negative.
    if i was an animal at threat of extinction because of human selfishness i would be willng the whole race to die out as soon as possible.
    hofner hussie & hayman harpie. what she said...
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  • We all heard about Chernobyl and the worldwide disaster it caused. I think there is a Fukushima cover up. It barely made the news airwaves. Why?
    Because we buy Japanese. That's why,
    Discuss.........


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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    We all heard about Chernobyl and the worldwide disaster it caused. I think there is a Fukushima cover up. It barely made the news airwaves. Why?
    Because we buy Japanese. That's why,
    Discuss.........


    There's no cover-up - all the information is widely known, which is actualyl the complete opposite of the situation in Chernobyl. The fact is the Fukushima accident was exponentially less serious than Chernobyl, and dealt with FAR more successfully by the government.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Fukushima_and_Chernobyl_nuclear_accidents
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12314
    Watched the program last night, fascinating stuff.  
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  • I remember the whole  incident very well.
    I was living  in Germany at the time. We where not allowed out into the school grounds for weeks (all the top soil was dug up and taken away). Our physics teacher showed us how a Geiger counter worked with a real life example.
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  • Seriously scary stuff @Axe_meister !

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  • Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield

    I nearly missed this, it is on iPlayer until 11pm tomorrow (Thu 22 Feb), but inevitably will be repeated again sometime if you miss out.

    "Lying on the remote north west coast of England is one of the most secret places in the country - Sellafield, the most controversial nuclear facility in Britain. Now, Sellafield are letting nuclear physicist Professor Jim Al-Khalili and the television cameras in, to discover the real story. Inside, Jim encounters some of the most dangerous substances on Earth, reveals the nature of radiation and even attempts to split the atom. He sees inside a nuclear reactor, glimpses one of the rarest elements in the world - radioactive plutonium - and even subjects living tissue to deadly radiation. Ultimately, the film reveals Britain's attempts - past, present and future - to harness the almost limitless power of the atom."

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b065x080/britains-nuclear-secrets-inside-sellafield

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  • Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield

    runs out tonight type bump   >-)

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  • m_cm_c Frets: 1211

    I've just finished watching it, and it was interesting to see a bit about the history, what it does now, and the future.

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  • NiteflyNitefly Frets: 4902
    Thanks for the heads-up, Chris - just watched that and found it very interesting.
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  • valevale Frets: 1052
    edited February 2017
    this is excellent perspective on whole biz, from early days to chernobyl. can recommend it.


    i had barely started school when chernobyl blew its top so i have no personal memories of it at all, but it looks scary as fuck in the contemporary news footage & documentaries.
    i also feel sorrow & sympathy for the poor russian plant workers, soldiers & volunteers, who risked certain radiation poisoning & long term health probs to go into the hot site to clear up, so as to minimise the amount of toxic stuff exposed to the atmosphere. brave & heroic people.

    fukushima daiichi is the big nuke power plant disaster in my memory. another that, purely by luck & not human judgement, could have been a thousand times worse than it was.
    hofner hussie & hayman harpie. what she said...
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  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
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  • Have you been eating that radioactive Cumbrian lamb again @57Deluxe ?

    Where is the old 'face palm' button when you need it ?
    aah this will have to do...

    X_X           X_X           X_X

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