Alexander:
I was a senior structural engineer designing BWRs and PWRs for 10 years prior to the March 1979 Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 incident. TMI was a typical Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR). I left the industry in May of 1979. I could quickly read the tea leaves that the negative press would in the end lead to the closure of the Nuclear industry.
Here is my quick analysis of the situation.
1. There were no fatalities
2. Radiation release was very very small
3. The TMI Unit 1 continued to operate for another 40 years and shut down in 2019.
4. All safety systems performed as designed to mitigate an uncontrolled shutdown of the reactors.
5.Having spent the previous 10 yrs developing processes, procedures and analytics working for Sargent and Lundy engineers I had complete confidence that the safe shutdown confirmed our design processes for PWR. Today I still believe that premise.
6.Chernoble was a totally different design. A RBMK 1000. A graphite moderated reactor. Graphite burns! Caught fire! See the following to an excellent video aregarding RBMK reactors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDPh1JA72nk7. New PWR are AP1000. China is in earnest to build AP1000 version reactors.
8. The new Vogtle Plants in the US currently under construction are AP1000's
So, my suggestion is that as technology advances, we learn from our lessons and proceed with the most effective solutions. Fusion reactors are many years away and will not help us with our current global energy demands. The decisions being made today are based on political factors and not the best for people. We need to learn objectively and make decisions accordingly. As current nuclear plants are decommissioned today we need to supplement them with newer technology plants. Let's not make the mistakes Germany recently made in shutting down their reactors that still have substantial remaining life.
On Tue, Oct 11, 2022 at 11:38 AM Alexander Granato via ASCE Collaborate <
Mail@...> wrote:
Hello Vito, Yes, I was referring to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. I learned all about what happened years ago, and I am sure that the... -posted to the "Professional and Career Topics" community
Re: What about nuclear power? | | | Hello Vito,
Yes, I was referring to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. I learned all about what happened years ago, and I am sure that the American public will not be so quick to valuing nuclear power again after all the news about this and other disasters.
It will probably take more reevaluation of the most infamous disasters to turn the public tide. I have heard of a mini-series about what happened in Chernobyl, but I have not heard anything about Three Mile Island for a long time.
------------------------------ Alexander Granato A.M.ASCE Student Bexley OH granato.3@... ------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 10-10-2022 11:42 PM | | | Reply to Group Online View Thread Like |
| |
Original Message:
Sent: 10/11/2022 12:22:00 PM
From: Alexander Granato
Subject: RE: What about nuclear power?
Hello Vito,
Yes, I was referring to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. I learned all about what happened years ago, and I am sure that the American public will not be so quick to valuing nuclear power again after all the news about this and other disasters.
It will probably take more reevaluation of the most infamous disasters to turn the public tide. I have heard of a mini-series about what happened in Chernobyl, but I have not heard anything about Three Mile Island for a long time.
------------------------------
Alexander Granato A.M.ASCE
Student
Bexley OH
granato.3@...------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2022 11:42 PM
From: Vito Rotondi
Subject: What about nuclear power?
Alexander:
I believe that you are referring to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The 9.0 earthquake is the most powerful recorded earthquake in Japan. The result was a 13-14 meter high tsunami. The plant was sited in a low area causing the backup electrical generators to fail and resulted in lack of backup power to the cooling pumps. It was an early BWR Mark 1 reactor.
The point I want to make is that as engineers, we learn from our past mistakes and improve future design and we move forward.
Case in point is the nearby Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power plant was also struck by the same tsunami and it continued to operate properly. It was designed to withstand flooding. These plants were designed and built many years ago. Hopefully we learn as we develop new technologies and avoid the blunders of the past.
So I am very comfortable believing that new power plants are designed to withstand extreme situations and provide safe and clean power generation in the future. We just have to be objective and educate the people accordingly.
Original Message:
Sent: 10/9/2022 10:53:00 AM
From: Alexander Granato
Subject: RE: What about nuclear power?
For several years, I have been speculating on how nuclear plants could be feasible as a substitute for all of the fossil fuel-based power plants in the country. It's well-known that countries like Japan have taken a lead on using nuclear power for energy, but that has remained a double-edged sword all this time.
In 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 hit Japan, and after a tsunami that followed, nuclear power plants ran out of the power they needed to cool their resources. This triggered meltdowns, and a need for long-term evacuations throughout that area of Japan. With the media circulation about those meltdowns, and without sufficient education on nuclear resources compared to the fossil fuels other power plants burn, the public clearly does not trust nuclear power as much as fossil fuels.
From there is the long-term commitment necessary from companies and/or the government to fund more nuclear power. Although there is plenty more fuel to use, the power plants need to be built near a constant water source to stabilize temperatures, and be prepared to stand tall again environmental disasters. Given both sides of the environmental issues, I doubt there will be long-term commitment to nuclear power in this country any time soon.
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Alexander Granato A.M.ASCE
Student
Bexley OH
<maskemail>
granato.3@...</maskemail>
Original Message:
Sent: 07-19-2022 12:39 PM
From: William McAnally
Subject: What about nuclear power?
I have questions about nuclear power and its role in our electrical power system. What fraction of our energy is presently produced by nuclear power? Should it be increased? Are safety and cost acceptable? Are new technologies available or coming? Could new Small Modular Reactors be a sound approach?
------------------------------
William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., D.CE, D.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
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