could a natural disaster be a danger to a nuclear power plant?
Jun 15, 2010
in
Disaster
Earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes. Can they ever damage to a nuclear power plant, causing a radiation leak, or worse? Maybe this needs to be asked by our government, in light of the oil leak in the gulf.. We need to investigate and prepare for ANY potential disaster.
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6 comments
Lothar B on June 15, 2010 at 1:03 am
For a tornado or hurricane the answer would be NO , for a earthquake this would be a matter of the strenght of the quake, our reactors and the covering shell around them usually is designed and build to withstand a certain magnitude of quake , however in the event of a mega quake there is a risk !
Jacob on June 15, 2010 at 1:03 am
It would take more than those natural disasters. The reactor building is made out of reinforced magnetite concrete (just as strong or even stronger than steel reinforced concrete) that is 3-5 feet thick. The pressure vessel itself is another story. The pressure vessel is made out of thick steel and is designed to resist pressures over 100 psi. The next layer outside of the pressure vessel is thick slabs of lead, designed to block radiation. Outside of that is 12 ft. of magnetite concrete to shield the reactor vessel itself. The reactor building is one of the safest buildings ever designed. If you rammed a plane into it, the plane would just incinerate itself. It would take a lot more force than mother nature has to offer.
Stan the Rocker on June 15, 2010 at 1:03 am
It becomes a concern if the earthquake or hurricane exceeds what the power plant was designed to withstand.
120 on June 15, 2010 at 1:03 am
Yes; anything that disrupts the cooling of the rods, will bring the reaction to a critical stage, and – if not cooled – end up in a Chernobyl syndrome.
Basically, the rod will consume itself in a fusion uncontrolled reaction until its entire mass (250 gr maybe) will be exhausted. But a reaction caused by a 250 grams fusion rod could devastate an entire city and contaminate for years.
Jerry Lee on June 15, 2010 at 1:03 am
Nuclear plants in the U.S. are designed to stand Earthquakes, tornados, and hurricanes without leaking radiation. They may be damaged, and have to shut down, but they have several precautions against leak.
LULZ@ JERRY on May 2, 2011 at 6:00 pm
You realize that nuclear plants constantly release radioactive gasses, right? They do claim to filter 99.9% out, but 0.01% gets released into the air.