Re: Stop the Japan/Reactor scare
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JWV</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I was speaking to one of my professors that is from Russia that did quite a bit of research on Chernobyl. According to her, the <span style="color: #3333FF">type of reactor that Japan is using at the site is a MOX reactor, basically consists of decommissioned nuclear weapons, and it is far more toxic that standard reactor components</span>. Also, if the material were to reach the jet stream, which is possible, it would reach the US in a very short amount of time. This is all according to my Russian research professor. </div></div>
Your professor is on the right track but that depends on how the information is pass on. Reactors are not built out of decommissioned nuclear weapons. Since the end of the Cold War and as part of the UN drive to reduce the quantity of nuclear weapons several countries have purchases nuclear weapon grade plutonium from Russia. This plutonium is used in the manufacturing of commercial grade fuel for power producing reactors. There is one unit at the Japan site that has this type of fuel. As for it being more toxic, that is a mute point. The other stuff is so deadly making it more deadly has no merit when it comes to what it can do when allowed to spread to places it does not belong in.
Also if the material reaches the jet stream it will travel with the jet stream some distance but that distance has several things that must be considered. How much is in the jet stream, half life of the isotope, what is available for the isotope to interact with etc. The one good thing the US has going for it is the fact that the reactors did not blow up and send the contamination into an elevated condition. Chernobyl launched tons of its core contents almost a mile up when it blew its top.
Over the weekend the news channels were stating radiation levels were 10,000,000 time greater in one area, workers were burned after stepping in water, and elevated levels 1,000,000 time higher were detected in buildings. They also by Sunday went back and corrected this info and the point I am trying to make is they are only grabbing bits and pieces to make news drama and not giving the whole story.
The issue is nothing to take lightly but it is several thousand miles away and the probability of any dangerous levels getting over here are very low. The site will be a waste land for many years and the saddest thing about the whole accident is what will happen to the next several generations of the children. There is a documentary titled The Children of Chernobyl and it a very sad 1 hour viewing.
Reliable daily updates are posted here. Just scroll down the page and they are in the center column.
http://ansnuclearcafe.org/
