6 ms·

Strangely this piece doesn't mention nuclear power plants: with 400 or so operational nuclear power plants worldwide, that's a lot of core meltdowns. Similarly

Strangely this piece doesn't mention nuclear power plants: with 400 or so operational nuclear power plants worldwide, that's a lot of core meltdowns. Similarly I would imagine there would be a lot of oil in the sea, if suddenly all the oil rigs and refineries were instantly abandoned.

coprogram 3y ago
If demand were to slowly drop to zero over a year as electrical devices shut down or fail, will a nuclear plant reduce power production without human input?
genman 3y ago
These two are in my main real disaster scenarios in the case I happen to by some magic survive the extinction level event. Yes, not very encouraging.
- thegrim33 3y ago
  Why? If you live right next door to one, sure maybe it'd be a concern, but the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which is larger than the effect Chernobyl caused, only has a 20 mile radius. There's only ~400 plants in the world, each of which if they went completely full Chernobyl would only affect a 20 mile radius.
  - dr_kiszonka 3y ago
    Didn't the contamination extend way beyond the exclusion zone, reaching, e.g., Sweden?
    - genman 3y ago
      Yes, and it was actively "extinguished" and covered with large amount of concrete - something we for sure can't expect happening.
ed_mercer 3y ago
Wouldn’t nuclear power plants simply automatically shut down with all the safety measures they have? Maybe not all of them but probably not enough to cause a global catastrophe.
- firecall 3y ago
  In reports of the recent Earth Quakes in Japan, the news noted how their Reactors had extensive safety protocols in place. So hopefully they would shut down safely, at least in Japan anyway!
- jarvist 3y ago
  I'm certain all the reactors will SCRAM (shut down the nuclear chain reaction), but then every large (i.e. all) power reactors need active cooling to remove the decay heat and prevent a core meltdown. (This is what happened at Fukushima - even with all the staff on site, they couldn't cope with a station 'blackout' (no external power grid) event.)
vba616 3y ago
The experience with Chernobyl is interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_exclusion_zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_exclusion_zone
hulitu 3y ago
> that's a lot of core meltdowns. In (journalistic) theory. In practice, the safety systems will kick in.
- mharig 3y ago
  And some will fail.

coprogram 3y ago

If demand were to slowly drop to zero over a year as electrical devices shut down or fail, will a nuclear plant reduce power production without human input?

genman 3y ago

These two are in my main real disaster scenarios in the case I happen to by some magic survive the extinction level event. Yes, not very encouraging.

thegrim33 3y ago
Why? If you live right next door to one, sure maybe it'd be a concern, but the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which is larger than the effect Chernobyl caused, only has a 20 mile radius. There's only ~400 plants in the world, each of which if they went completely full Chernobyl would only affect a 20 mile radius.
- dr_kiszonka 3y ago
  Didn't the contamination extend way beyond the exclusion zone, reaching, e.g., Sweden?
  - genman 3y ago
    Yes, and it was actively "extinguished" and covered with large amount of concrete - something we for sure can't expect happening.

ed_mercer 3y ago

Wouldn’t nuclear power plants simply automatically shut down with all the safety measures they have? Maybe not all of them but probably not enough to cause a global catastrophe.

firecall 3y ago
In reports of the recent Earth Quakes in Japan, the news noted how their Reactors had extensive safety protocols in place. So hopefully they would shut down safely, at least in Japan anyway!
jarvist 3y ago
I'm certain all the reactors will SCRAM (shut down the nuclear chain reaction), but then every large (i.e. all) power reactors need active cooling to remove the decay heat and prevent a core meltdown. (This is what happened at Fukushima - even with all the staff on site, they couldn't cope with a station 'blackout' (no external power grid) event.)

vba616 3y ago

The experience with Chernobyl is interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_exclusion_zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_exclusion_zone

hulitu 3y ago

> that's a lot of core meltdowns. In (journalistic) theory. In practice, the safety systems will kick in.

mharig 3y ago
And some will fail.