James Bowery <jabow...@gmail.com> wrote: > > The important consideration is the business risk of the event and "melt > down" has a business risk characterized by the destruction not only of the > capital investment but substantial externalities such as radioactive > environmental pollution damages in the billions of dollars. >
I see what you mean. There is no radioactive debris that can be released. As far as we know there isn't. The Three Mile Island meltdown did not cause radioactive debris to go everywhere because the reactor and the containment vessel both held, even though a third of the core melted. They got lucky. The Fukushima reactor rods and other core material spewed everywhere, covering a tremendous area with fine particles. There was a pathetic report on NHK the other night about this. There was an old guy living in a house in the contaminated area, outside the no-go border. The government spent a ton of money washing and scrubbing down roads, and the roof of the house, and hauling away contaminated dirt from the lawn. Like everyone else in the area, the guy carries a radiation meter around with him. When the workmen left, lo and behold the readings are below the danger level. A week later they are 3 times above it. "What happened?" he asks. What happened, echoes the nitwit NHK reporter voiceover. Yo, say I. Look around people! This is the countryside. There is a forested hill right behind you, not 50 meters away. There are hundreds of acres of abandoned fields and forest. Do you think the debris fell only on the road and roof? Do you think it stays there? Hold that meter over any culvert or pool in the woods, and it will go off the scale. That land will be uninhabitable for generations to come, and no technology on earth can remedy the problem. The government officials and TEPCO people who authorize families and children to live there should be arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and attempted homicide. - Jed
