WELCOME BACK CARTER (CONT’D): This really is a 1979 rerun! 3 Mile Island Reactor Shut

[Busybody]

WELCOME BACK CARTER (CONT’D): This really is a 1979 rerun! 3 Mile Island Reactor Shuts Down, Vents Steam.

Carter was was ahead of Reagan in Sept and Oct



Obama is way worse than Carter......and Carter at least, WAS AN AMERICAN.....

Hopefully it will be deja vu all over again


I DONT EXPECT THAT

 

[removed020613]

WELCOME BACK CARTER (CONT’D): This really is a 1979 rerun! 3 Mile Island Reactor Shuts Down, Vents Steam.

Carter was was ahead of Reagan in Sept and Oct



Obama is way worse than Carter......and Carter at least, WAS AN AMERICAN.....

Hopefully it will be deja vu all over again


I DONT EXPECT THAT

The half-melted reactor at the three mile island nuclear power plant released pure hydrogen gas into the reactor building. The chemical reaction between high-temperature uranium + zirconium alloy + water = hydrogen gas, which is highly combustible.

IMHO, president Jimmy Carter (a former nuclear engineer and submariner) visited the then-stricken TMI plant as a PR stunt for his presidency.

The TMI plant was extremely fortunate not to suffer a hydrogen explosion like the ill-fated Fukashima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe of 2011. The flammable gas at TMI unit 2 was carefully vented out of the containment building without igniting. The slightest spark could have triggered a large explosion as well as a massive release of radioactivity into the outside environment.

Here is a diagram showing post-accident damage to the core (over 90% core damage). In fact, some of the molten slag had melted it's way to the base of the containment vessel.

The difference between three mile island and the Japanese meltdowns of 2011 is that the power plant in Japan suffered a stationed blackout, meaning that the facility was completely without power because the earthquake and tsunami had severely damaged electrical infrastructure across large areas of the Japan. Had the plant had power, the operators could easily have brought the situation under control and prevented total meltdowns. Also, the emergency diesel generators as well as buildings housing emergency backup systems for the plant were damaged, flooded, or completely destroyed by the giant tsunami.

After detecting the massive earthquake, automated systems at the plant immediately initiated the SCRAM sequence (Safety Control Rod Axe Man) which inserted all of the boron control rods into the core simultaneously, however the reactor is still extremely hot after this process due to fission elements and needs a continuous flow of cooling water. There are several other things that need to be done in order to achieve cold shutdown (which is used for maintenance).

The reactors at Fukashima Daiichi are in infinitely worse condition than what is depicted in TMI reactor 2 in the above image. Experts and engineers have concluded that the cores in at least three of the four reactors have completely melted through the bases of their containment vessels and into the Earth beneath the reactor buildings -- a total meltdown.

During the time of the earthquake and tsunami, reactor #4 had been completely de-fueled for maintenance, so a meltdown in that reactor would not be possible. However the spent fuel pools did overheat and catch fire.

Radiation levels near the ruined reactors are high enough to cause severe illness within mere minutes worth of exposure.

 

[Busybody]