If the containment was adequate why did the judge in the 3 mile Island case order reinforcement of the containment structure? The basis for the extra expense, and construction delay, was 3 Mile Island constituted an above average risk due to flight path and the power plant location. The court had expert testimony and access to engineering plans. It seems they didn't share your belief.
Kirk -----Original Message----- From: F. Marc de Piolenc [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 8:29 PM To: Biofuel List Subject: [biofuel] Nuclear plant safety against aircraft strikes "... Mr. Clements said threats from the air -- such as missile attacks and crashing airliners -- haven't been given much thought, and that these installations are just as defenceless to such an attack as the Pentagon and other office buildings." If he means defenseless in the sense of being unable to PREVENT attack, then of course I must agree. But if he means unable to SURVIVE then he is wrong. The conditions that containment are meant to survive are much more stringent than an airliner impact. You need to understand that aircraft are not high-density objects - in ordnance terms their ballistic coefficient is low. They HAVE to be light in order to fly! In addition, they are frangible - they burst easily - and most of their mass dissipates with the residual fuel, so they cannot penetrate hard targets. The World Trade Towers were soft-shell targets, and even they were not destroyed by impact, but by the subsequent fire. A fire on the outside of a nuclear plant containment dome would have no effect whatever except to scorch the shell and raise the temperature inside by a few degrees. Marc de Piolenc Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.276 / Virus Database: 145 - Release Date: 9/3/2001 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> FREE COLLEGE MONEY CLICK HERE to search 600,000 scholarships! http://us.click.yahoo.com/47cccB/4m7CAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
