Main Discussion Area > Shooting and Hunting
In case you didn't have enuf 2 worry about...
Jim Davis:
Erik inspired me to do some reading on nuke plants. They all seem to have backup diesel generators for short term power outages and I read a mention that they are able to switch over and use some of their own power to keep their cooling systems going. I'd like to see an official site with a more direct comment on this.
Josh B:
Yep...even after SCRAMing the reactor, the fuel still has to be cooled or it gets hot and melts through the reactor...and pretty much anything else it comes in contact with. With no power, there's no coolant being pumped and you have what happened in Japan. They had emergency generators, but the tsunami knocked those out. I would like to think that emergency generators for power plants are hardened against EMP, but I wouldn't bet on it. Even if they are hardened to some degree, I have to wonder how well. I live 150 mi upwind from the closest one, but the fallout from the Western plants will likely land in the plains like most of the fall out from atomic testing in New Mexico did in the 50's. In most SHTF theories meltdowns are more of a long term tertiary problem for most since the immediate threats to life will be many and immediate such as illness, violence, exposure, thirst and starvation. Man...we're painting a pretty ugly picture in this thread. Lets hope this discussion remains forever academic. Josh
sleek:
Under the reactors are several layers of containment to capture all melt down in a bowl to prevent contamination. It doesn't just fall through, there is steel and concrete designed to contain the fuel in the event of a melt down.
Eric Krewson:
Not so Sleek, at Three Mile Island the containment vessel was almost breeched.
A quote from a possible meltdown scenario;
A reactor core meltdown destroys two of the barriers between radioactive material and the environment: the fuel pellets and the fuel rods. Consequently, a vast amount of radioactive material gets released into the reactor vessel. The molten core debris can breach the reactor vessel, as almost happened at Three Mile Island, eliminating another barrier. The large amount of hydrogen gas produced by the overheated reactor core en route to meltdown can explode, challenging or even breaching the containment structure, the final barrier.
Josh B:
Acknowledging that nuke plants are at the very least a serious potential threat in the scenario we're discussing, can we move back towards the original problem of how to get home. None of us are nuclear physicists and I see little point in a continued Google war. Lol! How about sharing ideas of essential gear that you would want in such an event. Movement tactics. Hydration strategies and so on. I'm always rethinking what I would need vs. what I want to carry on my back. Having humped a 100 pound pack for 26 mles...twice...back in my prime, I can tell you that is a very important matter to consider. Especially since I'm along ways from my prime. Josh
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version