Thursday, March 24, 2011

Nuclear Power Continued

The problems at the Japanese Nuclear Plants continues. How the problem developed is clearer though. The reactors were not damaged by the earthquake. The three reactors that were operating at the time of the quake were shut down. The problem is that even when the nuclear fission has been stopped the material remains very hot. There needs to be consistent supply of coolant to keep the rods from getting too hot, and melting themselves. Since the reactors have shut down, the power needs to come in from the outside or the pumps need to be powered by diesel or other fuel. The tsunami took out the diesel pumps and the in coming power lines.

At this time though, Japan needs to get their reactors under control. However, the US needs to take a look at their situation. Are there reactors that are in problem areas of this country? In the past the question that was usually asked was would the containment building be able to prevent a radiation leak. However, now the back-up systems now need to be check to see if they would be able to perform if there was a situation.

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