I am surprised that CBS would publish this article as they did. The opinions of a clerk that was last employed at Watts Bar in 1997 seem a little out of date. The article would have been much more effective had we heard from someone who has been employed in the last few years rather than what was presented. As a retired nuclear operator, I have been much more involved in nuclear operations than the lady who was interviewed for this article and totally disagree with the things she says. The processes in place to ensure nuclear safety are good ones. They are not perfect and need constant updates as the industry learns new things and newer technology becomes available. The employees who operate and maintain these plants are good employees who work hard to ensure that the plants are operated safely. This report is unfair to the industry as a whole and borders on just plain fiction. I noticed that concerns numbers were given but no facts on their resolution or disposition. Many of the concerns were totally unfounded and many were legitimate yet resolved years ago. At least give all the facts and not just the facts that sell. Talk to employees who work at the site now or have within the last few years and put their opinions with those from years ago.
Please don't drop your standards to those of the rag newspapers. I realize that bad news sells better than good news but sensationalism loses the more educated viewers over time.
This is the well balanced and most trusted assessment of the nuclear power.
Most of the opinions expressed in the media are based on ill informed data from lower level people ( like a dismissed clerk, in this case) who either have made some loose talks with the media or they have some grudge with the authorities concerned.
No media report is based on real scientific / engineering basis. They will quote " some experts", " some sources", etc. The very fact that they are not willing to talk to the nuclear experts and listen to the real technical matters speaks volumes of their biased mind set.
They all view from the "perceived risk" - something like fear for ghost, fear for darkness, fear for height, fear for water, etc. For these people no amount of explanation or technical reasoning is going to help. We need to buldozz them or ignore them.
If we go by the general public opinion on this kind of highly technical matters, it is like beleiving that the Earth is Flat, as almost every one was beleiving so for thousands of years !
By listening to the ignorant public who go by media hype which is against nuclear power, we are going to ruin the environment by resorting to more and more fossil fuels. It is going to be a major issue for India and China, which need huge energy for their development. If developed countries are ignoring Nuclear Energy, there will be clamour from the public for doing so in developing countries. After all they copy what happens in the developed countries, whether it is good or bad.
Only India had been able to tread a different path on the nuclear front. But, now there also it is becoming difficult day by day.
"Fukushima-type disaster inevitable in U.S.?"....It's already happening. It's called the West Coast(and Canada). Where do you think the radiation is landing? Of course the EPA says things are fine. The EPA was/is speechless on the Gulf of Mexico also. Protect the corporation(ie GE) at all costs, financial or human.
As the child of a former (read deceased) employee of the TVA Watts Bar facility, I can say that the management of the TVA is clueless to what is really going on. The local population is so dependent on this plant that they will do anything to protect it.
I believe what this "gadfly", Ann Harris, has brought forward, the issues she brought out have just been papered over or buried. Unit 1 should have never been granted an operating license and those that tried to warn the NRC were dealt with most severely. I lost a parent to the politics and culture war of Watts Bar, I don't believe I am alone.
So what do the banks think about investing in new reactors? Read what CitiBank says (spoiler alert, reactors fail at 5 investment criteria). See www.*******.com/citiseznonukes
See what this MacAurther genius award winner and top scientist at a world known energy lab thinks of nuclear power (spoiler alert: he thinks nuclear does not work economically or as climate protection) see www.*******.com/forgetnuclear
So, you want to listen to the Bankers who go entirely by the media hype on any matter. You do not want to listen to the the engineers who have made all the difference in the whole world. They have improved the life expectancy of the peopel so much that the population has grown 7 times in the last century alone. Why don't you guys in the media shut your mouth and allow the engineers to do what they know better than all of you. It is a well known fact that Engineers / Scientists have the highest IQ. None of you guys in the media can match their IQ. It is applicable for general public also.
So, please listen to the engineers and allow the nuclear power if you want to live longer and of you want your children, grand children to inherit this planet worthy of living.
Otherwise, the governments will be forced to build more coal fired plants which will dump all the carbon burried in the earth as Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere.
Or foolishly, the politicians will be forced to invest in the so called "Non Conventional Energy Sources". Solar which consumes so much energy that it needs about 5 years to get back that energy and which has a life of just 25 years.
Wind power, though economical, will surely have climate change effect, which will be known after about 15 years, as we are facing from coal fired plants.
If you have a statement to make, then make it. Writing this headline with a question mark is nothing but unabashed sensationalism. Go back to journalism school.
The British government was recently caught sending emails to news outlets telling them them to limit and temper stories about Fukushima. This most likely going on in the U.S. and other pro nuke countries. The nuke industry is fighting for its future and will cover-up and lie to protect itself.
In the case of Fukushima, the Earthquake was a contributing factor. Also, the Tsunami was a contributing factor.
What caused the disaster was "The Design."
I was under the misapprehension that once one SCRAMed one's nuclear reactor - it was safe. The only issue for safety was getting it shut off. Once the dampening rods were down, the critical reaction stops, then all is well.
NOT SO. The design of the Westinghouse Mark I's is such that a shutdown must be followed by days of actively supported cool-down. Without a dynamic cool-down, the core melts down.
Our aged, thoroughly depreciated, Mark I's are just waiting to loose their cooling systems. It may not be due to an earthquake. It probably won't be due to a tsunami. Whatever happens, it will be new and different. And, of course, as in the case of Fukushima, according to the experts, totally un-anticipated - therefore, they (the experts) should not be held accountable.
Be advised: The experts already have their excuses printed out. They have put far more effort into obfuscating their complicity, than they have put into remedying their design.
The reactor at Fukushima was a GENERAL ELECTRIC boiling water reactor, NOT a Westinghouse-designed pressurized water reactor. Get the facts correct and pay attention to detail before speaking please.
Of course we're going to have a major nuclear meltdown - even if a reactor facility is completely up to code there is always the unexpected, the one thing scientists didn't consider.
But the real reason will be that our reactor's AREN'T up to code - not by a long stretch. They're old and outdated, and there's widespread coverup because we'd rather be ostriches with our heads in the sand than face the monetary facts of what it will cost to ensure they won't meltdown. We'll just make excuses for the personal costs, the number of lives lost and the environmental damage afterward.
Your comment is all fear and conjecture. Where are your facts? What are your credentials? In sum your anti nuclear arguement is nothing more than what an uneducated person would say to provoke more uneducated people into beliving a lie.
I don't think we really need a source. We all know that there is incompetence in almost everything. There doesn't have to be an earthquake. No matter what business it is, there are people that don't do their jobs. There are slack ass es.
And it is a FACT that these nuclear plants are old and outdated, and that there are coverups. Did you not see the story about it, on here, not too long ago? About the leaks and people not doing their jobs?
One thing for sure, is that the U.S. will be no less incompetent than Japan. Count on it. Now you might be able to get away with incompetence with other jobs, but this is one that can cost thousands of lives.
Just think of how many people, right now, that are drinking nuclear waste, on top of the jet fuel and other chemicals, in your water. MMMMMMMM yummy!
Uneducated? I'm thinking it's you that is uneducated. For the past while, they have been doing checks on these facilities, and reporting the findings. Where have you been? Head up your ass?
by bmallen3 July 19, 2011 1:50 PM EDT utter nonsense. How many people were killed by the tsunami? how many by the meltdown? Are you kidding us, there is no comparison.
Wow. No lack of stupid people. No one has died from the meltdown YET. But they will. It just takes awhile for it to happen. They have YEARS of suffering they have to go through before they actually DIE!
If the TVA says it's safe then I would be running for the hills, that's Beverly Hills....You can take it to the bank that TVA is like most(99.99%)big businesss in America they are lying sacks of crap.
Whistle blowers seem to pay a price for speaking out. We still have a repressive country where those seeking justice put themselves in danger for the benefit of everyone.
It's because our economic system is free-market capitalism (where the bottom line is the most holy thing), and the capitalists are embedded into our government.
Oh, you poor soul!!! We are being SO repressed... Phhhtttt.... And, you write this at peril of your life?? Phhhhttt.... We live in the most free country in the world.. No, not "one" of the most free.... THE MOST FREE.... You make me want to just ........ cry...
According to me every country should not use their nuclear power becuse this may be the reason of end of the world. I think one day world will destroyed only due to this neular power. We have already seen lots of examples of it and this is the time when we should control on our nulear power. <a href="http://www.ducatindia.com/java/">Java Training</a> <a href="http://www.ducatindia.com">Java Training</a>
Yes, it will happen, and it is just a matter of when. What are a few hundred or a few thousand American lives to the big players, chump change? That would be my guess.
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Please don't drop your standards to those of the rag newspapers. I realize that bad news sells better than good news but sensationalism loses the more educated viewers over time.
Most of the opinions expressed in the media are based on ill informed data from lower level people ( like a dismissed clerk, in this case) who either have made some loose talks with the media or they have some grudge with the authorities concerned.
No media report is based on real scientific / engineering basis. They will quote " some experts", " some sources", etc. The very fact that they are not willing to talk to the nuclear experts and listen to the real technical matters speaks volumes of their biased mind set.
They all view from the "perceived risk" - something like fear for ghost, fear for darkness, fear for height, fear for water, etc. For these people no amount of explanation or technical reasoning is going to help. We need to buldozz them or ignore them.
If we go by the general public opinion on this kind of highly technical matters, it is like beleiving that the Earth is Flat, as almost every one was beleiving so for thousands of years !
By listening to the ignorant public who go by media hype which is against nuclear power, we are going to ruin the environment by resorting to more and more fossil fuels. It is going to be a major issue for India and China, which need huge energy for their development. If developed countries are ignoring Nuclear Energy, there will be clamour from the public for doing so in developing countries. After all they copy what happens in the developed countries, whether it is good or bad.
Only India had been able to tread a different path on the nuclear front. But, now there also it is becoming difficult day by day.
I believe what this "gadfly", Ann Harris, has brought forward, the issues she brought out have just been papered over or buried. Unit 1 should have never been granted an operating license and those that tried to warn the NRC were dealt with most severely. I lost a parent to the politics and culture war of Watts Bar, I don't believe I am alone.
See what this MacAurther genius award winner and top scientist at a world known energy lab thinks of nuclear power (spoiler alert: he thinks nuclear does not work economically or as climate protection) see www.*******.com/forgetnuclear
So, please listen to the engineers and allow the nuclear power if you want to live longer and of you want your children, grand children to inherit this planet worthy of living.
Otherwise, the governments will be forced to build more coal fired plants which will dump all the carbon burried in the earth as Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere.
Or foolishly, the politicians will be forced to invest in the so called "Non Conventional Energy Sources". Solar which consumes so much energy that it needs about 5 years to get back that energy and which has a life of just 25 years.
Wind power, though economical, will surely have climate change effect, which will be known after about 15 years, as we are facing from coal fired plants.
If you have a statement to make, then make it. Writing this headline with a question mark is nothing but unabashed sensationalism. Go back to journalism school.
yes, nothing happened. The deaths were all caused by the tsunami and the "meltdown" was a big nothing
Ahhhh, another stupid person. Those people may have not died YET, but they will.......after years of suffering.
YES
In the case of Fukushima, the Earthquake was a contributing factor.
Also, the Tsunami was a contributing factor.
What caused the disaster was "The Design."
I was under the misapprehension that once one SCRAMed one's nuclear reactor - it was safe. The only issue for safety was getting it shut off. Once the dampening rods were down, the critical reaction stops, then all is well.
NOT SO.
The design of the Westinghouse Mark I's is such that a shutdown must be followed by days of actively supported cool-down. Without a dynamic cool-down, the core melts down.
Our aged, thoroughly depreciated, Mark I's are just waiting to loose their cooling systems. It may not be due to an earthquake. It probably won't be due to a tsunami. Whatever happens, it will be new and different. And, of course, as in the case of Fukushima, according to the experts, totally un-anticipated - therefore, they (the experts) should not be held accountable.
Be advised:
The experts already have their excuses printed out.
They have put far more effort into obfuscating their complicity, than they have put into remedying their design.
But the real reason will be that our reactor's AREN'T up to code - not by a long stretch. They're old and outdated, and there's widespread coverup because we'd rather be ostriches with our heads in the sand than face the monetary facts of what it will cost to ensure they won't meltdown. We'll just make excuses for the personal costs, the number of lives lost and the environmental damage afterward.
Your comment is all fear and conjecture. Where are your facts? What are your credentials? In sum your anti nuclear arguement is nothing more than what an uneducated person would say to provoke more uneducated people into beliving a lie.
Jfarmer9
Source?
I don't think we really need a source. We all know that there is incompetence in almost everything. There doesn't have to be an earthquake. No matter what business it is, there are people that don't do their jobs. There are slack ass es.
And it is a FACT that these nuclear plants are old and outdated, and that there are coverups. Did you not see the story about it, on here, not too long ago? About the leaks and people not doing their jobs?
One thing for sure, is that the U.S. will be no less incompetent than Japan. Count on it. Now you might be able to get away with incompetence with other jobs, but this is one that can cost thousands of lives.
Just think of how many people, right now, that are drinking nuclear waste, on top of the jet fuel and other chemicals, in your water. MMMMMMMM yummy!
Uneducated? I'm thinking it's you that is uneducated. For the past while, they have been doing checks on these facilities, and reporting the findings. Where have you been? Head up your ass?
utter nonsense. How many people were killed by the tsunami? how many by the meltdown? Are you kidding us, there is no comparison.
Wow. No lack of stupid people. No one has died from the meltdown YET. But they will. It just takes awhile for it to happen. They have YEARS of suffering they have to go through before they actually DIE!
You added nothing to the discussion. Stuff your poor attempt at sarcasm.
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