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[pr0cs]

The fact that the land will not be usable or livable for many many years is mindblowing.
Until we can find a way to make safer nuclear energy without all the waste the benefits don't outweigh the risks.

 

[dapperbandit]

I would love to visit Chernobyl, the disaster is the first that I was able to understand, I have always tried to learn more about it.

A few things have stuck with me,
Firstly is the helicopter that rotor-blades catch on a crane as it is trying to drop boron onto the reactor, where it then falls into Helicopter crash in Chernobyl the burning reactor,

Then the bio-robots on the roof, who were there because the electronic and mechanical robots some that were designed to go to the moon failed due to the intense radiation, they used shovels and even (rubber gloved hands) to throw reactor roof fragments off an adjoining roof Battle of Chernobyl-These guys saved the world

The other is the three that volunteered to swim underneath the reactor to release water to stop an steam explosion
the graphite "moderator", 2,500 tonnes of radioactive carbon, which was ablaze and if unchecked would burn for the next three months, sending more radioactive material into the atmosphere with each passing hour. The damaged reactor was sinking and burning through its strengthened floor and was in danger of collapsing into rooms flooded with water. This would trigger a nuclear explosion that, so Soviet physicists calculated, would vaporise the fuel in the three other reactors, level 200 square kilometres, destroy Kiev, contaminate the water supply used by 30 million people and render northern Ukraine uninhabitable for more than a century.

A group of three men were required to suit up in scuba-gear and swim through the flooded chambers of the basement to the gate valve, twist it open and so allow the trapped water to drain out. It was a "suicide mission". Radiation was at lethal levels.
They knew they would die and due to the high radioactivity levels on their bodies, they were buried in lead coffins that were soldered shut.

Everyone should remember the sacrifices the thousands of people who tried to contain and clean up the site.

Lead coffins, Jesus.

Those were brave men.

 

[Alex_Mexico]

Nope, fortunately all my eleven fingers are there and counted for.

You made me laugh out loud at work.... idiot.

 

[Nivash]

Designing a Nuclear Waste Warning Symbol That Will Still Make Sense in 10,000 Years

I always felt that those projects are rather silly and fanciful; more speculative art than something truly useful or important. Over the scale of 10,000 years those waste dumps could never do enough damage to actually matter even in the worst case scenario and any signs and other safeguards could fail in a million ways.

Civilisations will rise and fall in that time. Even a few thousand radiation deaths or a state-sized groundwater contamination event kinda fades into obscurity with the perspective of discussing an epoch reaching almost as far away into the future as the agricultural revolution does in the past.

The fact that the land will not be usable or livable for many many years is mindblowing.
Until we can find a way to make safer nuclear energy without all the waste the benefits don't outweigh the risks.

Depends on your definition of useable and livable. There are people who still live there, never having left or coming back soon after, while the wildlife is having a ball. The only factor is whatever level of increased cancer risk you find unacceptable.

 

[ThatGayWolf]

Nuclear research focused almost exclusively and plutonium and uranium because those materials can also be used to make nuclear weapons.
Simply switching to different fissile element, like thorium, would resolve a lot of safety and nuclear waste issues.

Sadly, because it isn't suited to making nuclear weapons, militaries and governments around the world haven't funded research into thorium, and now they are too invested in plutonium and uranium reactors to switch over.

It is the best solution short of sustainable fusion. Nuclear technology has improved greatly. Do you really think a Soviet reactor was really built up to snuff?

Molten salt reactors have almost no risk of meltdown and modern designs for regular reactors are magnitudes safer. Problem is most reactors in service now are super old. Spent nuclear fuel can be recycled and if people weren't so irrationally scared of nuclear power we could find safe disposal avenues for waste like deep bore holes, subduction zones, and Yucca.

This. How I wish we could get more thorium research/facilities.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

Depends on your definition of useable and livable. There are people who still live there, never having left or coming back soon after, while the wildlife is having a ball. The only factor is whatever level of increased cancer risk you find unacceptable.

Which in the case of fossil fuels can be just as bad or worse.

 

[jfkgoblue]

It is the best solution short of sustainable fusion. Nuclear technology has improved greatly. Do you really think a Soviet reactor was really built up to snuff?

Molten salt reactors have almost no risk of meltdown and modern designs for regular reactors are magnitudes safer. Problem is most reactors in service now are super old. Spent nuclear fuel can be recycled and if people weren't so irrationally scared of nuclear power we could find safe disposal avenues for waste like deep bore holes, subduction zones, and Yucca.

Exactly, hell modern nuclear power is very safe even, but then a freak accident like Fukushima happens and dominates the media for weeks. Irrational fear occurs and everyone thinks they understand exactly how it works based on what CNN said.

Would like to reiterate that what happened at Chernobyl is virtually impossible to happen to any US reactor as there are fundamental design differences between the two. (Boils down to the Soviets prioritized maximizing power while the U.S. prioritized safety)

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

Exactly, hell modern nuclear power is very safe even, but then a freak accident like Fukushima happens and dominates the media for weeks. Irrational fear occurs and everyone thinks they understand exactly how it works based on what CNN said.

Doesn't help when they get michio kaku as their "expert"

 

[Omegasquash]

Doesn't help when they get michio kaku as their "expert"

Ice cold diss, but true.

 

[Nivash]

Doesn't help when they get michio kaku as their "expert"

The weird/funny/sad thing about Fukushima is that the people who pushed the "we're all going to die" angle never stopped. They just moved on to alternative media and still claim we're all going to die. Any day now. Just you wait. It's turned into the conspiracy theory version of a doomsday prophecy.

The claims of a cover up of Chernobyl (which were much more plausible and even somewhat true, in that they at least tried for a while) and claims that it was much worse than is normally recognised seem downright tempered by comparison. Maybe Fukushima will fade away too in time, but I don't know, it happened in a vastly different information environment.

 

[LoveCake]

Chernobyl was simply human error and an accident due to not following procedures, where Fukushima was un-preventable, it survived the earthquake but was unable to withstand the tsunami which destroyed the generators.

Nuclear power is quite safe imo, accidents sometimes will happen but the percentage is very low, if you want to talk about radiation in the atmosphere look at all the nuclear bomb tests that were carried out, we irradiated our own atmosphere! Quark They Irradiated Their Own Planet?

If you want to know about weird nuclear incidents, this one has always fascinated me, The Demon Core there is a re-enactment of one of the accidents here that is how quick you can sign your own death warrant!

Back to Chernobyl, one person that should also never be forgotten is Igor Kostin a Ukrainian photographer who illegally took most of the photographs and films while the disaster was taking place, he flew in the helicopters that flew over the exposed reactor and said that while doing so there was a metallic taste in his mouth (due to the radiation) also many of the photographs taken came out blank due to the radiation also, when the bio-robots went onto the roof, he went as well, he knew he had been dangerously exposed but knew he had to document what was happening, he also went back after the disaster to continue to report on the clean up, Igor did suffer from radiation related illnesses but sadly died last year in a car accident I was lucky enough to get Igors book Chernobyl: Confessions of a Reporter on release that contains a lot of information on what went on including most of his photos.

I hope this is ok to post, this is the text on the back of my copy, posted to give a glimpse into the story of a man who gave his life to tell the story.

 

[pr0cs]

Which in the case of fossil fuels can be just as bad or worse.

As bad as Chernobyl? Uhh no. Handled poorly and without care yes very dangerous but nothing even as close to as disruptive as nuclear.

 

[kavanf1]

Unfortunately the site seems to be down at the moment, but if it comes back up, I highly recommend browsing it for a fascinating look at Chernobyl: http://www.kiddofspeed.com/

About ten years ago she drove through Pripyat on her motorcycle and captured some seriously haunting images. Those of you who remember COD4 will remember the footage from the intro "50,000 people used to live here...now it's a ghost town". The images from the game are exactly the same as she captured.

 

[jelly]

Surprised there isn't anything in the news or documentaries on for this.

Echo the posts about the brave people stopping further disaster and cleaning up. Heroes.

 

[LoveCake]

Surprised there isn't anything in the news or documentaries on for this.

Echo the posts about the brave people stopping further disaster and cleaning up. Heroes.

There was a report here in the UK on the BBC news this afternoon and this evening and some reporter was there filming.

 

[Man with Knife]

Just saw a report on german television, the giant arch over reactor 4 reached its resting place today

The world's largest movable land-based object, it will safeguard the radioactive remains for at least 100 years

Chernobyl's new "shield" (BBC News)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPO-7FaWFKA

Securing Chernobyl - protecting Reactor 4 - drone footage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt2B98e75Xg

Unique engineering feat concluded as Chernobyl arch has reached resting place
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH1bv9fAxiY