{"id":1045,"date":"2011-03-20T14:55:08","date_gmt":"2011-03-20T03:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/?p=1045"},"modified":"2011-03-20T16:45:59","modified_gmt":"2011-03-20T05:45:59","slug":"nukes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/2011\/03\/nukes-1045.html","title":{"rendered":"Lesson from Japan: Nukes are Unsafe"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a SHTF scenario, safety features of nuclear reactors might be significantly incapable of preventing a meltdown. As we have seen in Japan, a country that gave us the word tsunami<\/em>, their backup plan of diesel generators failed because the tsunami took them out. If your home or safe spot is within 50-100 miles of a nuclear reactor, you need to be aware of the risks. Not everyday risks, I’m sure the authorities have them covered. I mean rare events, any of which could be occurring in a 2012, end of the world situation.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/p>\n

Earthquake <\/strong>– anywhere in the world can have an earthquake. In 2012, a global cataclysm could be setting off earthquakes globally. Authorities saying “we don’t get earthquakes around here” does not equal safety.<\/p>\n

Tsunami <\/strong>– your local reactor is only safe if it is a substantial distance from the coast. In the past mile-high<\/em> tsunamis are known to have occurred. Even a smaller 200 metre tsunami will reach 50-100 kilometres inland, or further if the terrain is flat.<\/p>\n

Asteroid<\/strong> – if a large asteroid or comet strikes the ocean, a tsunami will result. If it strikes land, a reactor will be safe unless there is a direct hit. There is twice as much ocean as there is land…<\/p>\n

Coronal Mass Ejection<\/strong> – storms from the Sun can take out satellites, and render power-grids inoperable. Unless a reactor has all of their equipment inside a Faraday cage<\/em>, the instrumentation they need could also be wrecked.<\/p>\n

Volcano<\/strong> – aside from a direct hit by a volcanic block (or bomb), ash can shut down power grids and make it very difficult for emergency services to reach the site.<\/p>\n

War \/ Terrorism<\/strong> – a direct strike by a missile would most likely be something that cannot be protected against. A nuclear reactor would certainly be a target during war, or by terrorists.<\/p>\n

Hurricane<\/strong> – I would like to think that most facilities could withstand a hurricane, but you never know…<\/p>\n

Tornado<\/strong> – I can picture a twister ripping up power cables (if they aren’t underground), destroying a control room and damaging a diesel generator.<\/p>\n

According to the Wall Street Journal<\/a> this week:<\/p>\n

American plants have backup generators and powerful batteries, but some only have enough battery power to run critical instrumentation and controls for four hours. The Japanese units had eight hour’s worth and it was insufficient.<\/p>\n
For example, the Monticello reactor in Minnesota that’s operated by Xcel Energy Inc. only has four hours of battery life if it loses grid power and diesel generators.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The US power grid is extremely vulnerable at present, and all that protects folk from meltdowns if the grid goes down are diesel generators<\/a>. While they aren’t out in the open, whether the level of protection is sufficient in a SHTF scenario is for you to decide. Here’s an example of what typically protects the generator from the outside world:<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Over at Daily Beast<\/a> they have ranked the relative risks of every facility in the USA, considering possibilities of earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes, and looking at how many people live within 50 miles, the official safe distance. Here’s the #1 risk, due to its proximity to New York:<\/p>\n
1. Indian Point<\/strong><\/p>\n
Location: Buchanan, NY (24 miles north of New York City)
\nReactors: 2
\nElectrical Output (megawatts): Unit 2: 1020; Unit 3: 1025
\nYear Operating License Issued: Unit 2: 1973; Unit 3: 1975
\nPopulation within 50 Miles: 17,452,585
\nRelative Safety Rating: bottom third
\nRisk of Natural Disasters:<\/p>\n
Likelihood of Earthquake (scale 0-6): 2
\nExpected Number of Hurricanes in Next Century: 20 – 40
\nMiles to Potentially Active Volcano: not a factor
\nSignificant Tornadoes (1921-1995): 0 to 5<\/p>\n
and the least riskiest:<\/em><\/p>\n
65. H. B. Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n
Location: Hartsville, SC (26 miles northwest of Florence, SC)
\nReactors: 1
\nElectrical Output (megawatts): 710
\nYear Operating License Issued: 1970
\nPopulation within 50 Miles: 855,396
\nRelative Safety Rating: top third
\nRisk of Natural Disasters:<\/p>\n
Likelihood of Earthquake (scale 0-6): 2
\nExpected Number of Hurricanes in Next Century: 20 – 40
\nMiles to Potentially Active Volcano: not a factor
\nSignificant Tornadoes (1921-1995): 10 to 15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a SHTF scenario, safety features of nuclear reactors might be significantly incapable of preventing a meltdown. As we have seen in Japan, a country that gave us the word tsunami, their backup plan of diesel generators failed because the tsunami took them out. If your home or safe spot is within 50-100 miles of a nuclear reactor, you need to be aware of the risks. Not everyday risks, I’m sure the authorities have them covered. I mean rare events, any of which could be occurring in a 2012, end of the world situation.<\/p>\n
Earthquake – anywhere in the world can have an earthquake. In 2012, a global cataclysm could be setting off earthquakes globally. Authorities saying “we don’t get earthquakes around here” does not equal safety.
\nTsunami – your local reactor is only safe if it is a substantial distance from the coast. In the past mile-high tsunamis are known to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[306],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nuclear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1045"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1048,"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045\/revisions\/1048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/survive2012.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}