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If there's nothing to worry about, why can't nuclear power plants get liability insurance? Day to day the risks are minimal, but the consequences of a screwup are pretty big.
My guess would be that it probably has more to do with the small group over which the insurance company can spread their liability. The way insurance companies successfully operate is sort of a "safety in numbers" thing -- they have tens of thousands of people paying premiums, but only expect to pay significant claims on a very few.
There are only about 100 nuclear power plants in the US, so that concept doesn't work as well.
I lived on an Army base less than a 1/2 mile from a Nuke plant. I live in fuquay now not very far from it. being it is the last one to go online in the US, it has the most up to date design in the US.
I am not worried about it, but something could happen. if we all worried about what could happen, we would never get anything done.
The North is no slouch when it comes to nuclear power.
Map of Operating Nuclear Power Reactors
Yeah, I didn't understand the Northern/Southern comment either.
I remember them building one near my childhood home during my childhood....it was a lot closer to my home then the one near the Triangle is to me know.
The operation of a plant does not concern me...it's just a not issue. I am, however, much more concerned with the long term storage of the waste from spent fuel rods. THAT is an accident waiting to happen if we don't come up with something better then what we are doing now. (However, such storage facilities are not in this area - so it's a global problem, while not being a local threat.)
YThe operation of a plant does not concern me...it's just a not issue. I am, however, much more concerned with the long term storage of the waste from spent fuel rods. THAT is an accident waiting to happen if we don't come up with something better then what we are doing now. (However, such storage facilities are not in this area - so it's a global problem, while not being a local threat.)
I believe that Shearon Harris is one of the largest storage facilities for spent fuel rods on the east coast, collecting waste from at least three other nuclear plants.
Time is on the side for a major disaster. Even if it's not this country, when that happens they'll be a strong demand to shutter them all.
Oh stop the fear mongering. Nuclear reactors today are one of the safest sources of power out there. People get all scary scary about Chernobyl but fail to realize that it was a RBMK (Reaktor Bolshoy Moshchnosti Kanalniy aka "High Power Channel Reactor") type of reactor which was horrible in design and practice (we all know the result).
Most reactors now are PWRs (pressurized water reactors) which use water to moderate the reaction taking place (negative coefficient of reactivity) as opposed to the RBMK design which used graphite (positive coefficient of reactivity).
Basically with a PWR, when there is a temperature increase water becomes less dense allowing for an increase in neutron collisions. This increase slows the reaction process down over time, producing less and less heat. With a RBMK, a roughly opposite process occurs where the reaction runs away and domino effects.
I could ramble on (trust me, I did a term paper on this for an engineering class and did perhaps too much research) but this is about as much as I'll delve into science over the weekend.
I believe that Shearon Harris is one of the largest storage facilities for spent fuel rods on the east coast, collecting waste from at least three other nuclear plants.
Enjoy
Ouch....now that I didn't know. Off to do some research on the situation.
Oh stop the fear mongering. Nuclear reactors today are one of the safest sources of power out there. People get all scary scary about Chernobyl but fail to realize that it was a RBMK (Reaktor Bolshoy Moshchnosti Kanalniy aka "High Power Channel Reactor") type of reactor which was horrible in design and practice (we all know the result).
Most reactors now are PWRs (pressurized water reactors) which use water to moderate the reaction taking place (negative coefficient of reactivity) as opposed to the RBMK design which used graphite (positive coefficient of reactivity).
Basically with a PWR, when there is a temperature increase water becomes less dense allowing for an increase in neutron collisions. This increase slows the reaction process down over time, producing less and less heat. With a RBMK, a roughly opposite process occurs where the reaction runs away and domino effects.
I could ramble on (trust me, I did a term paper on this for an engineering class and did perhaps too much research) but this is about as much as I'll delve into science over the weekend.
Put humans in the equation and the only other ingredient needed for a major accident to happen is time. Don't need to have written a term paper on it experience has shown me that.
Once it happens the public will be up and arms in mass against them.
Put humans in the equation and the only other ingredient needed for a major accident to happen is time. Don't need to have written a term paper on it experience has shown me that.
Once it happens the public will be up and arms in mass against them.
Ok, I will agree with you there. If there is another disaster the public will probably go nuts opposed to any new plants.
It could happen or it couldn't. The world could end tomorrow for all we know. :P I guess I'm just defending nuclear reactor safety. It is a safe industry that has been tarnished by some bad incidents.
The industry is leaps and bounds ahead of what it used to be though as a result of those same incidents.
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