I am writing this text (Mar 12) to give you some peace of mind
regarding some of the troubles in Japan, that is the safety of
Japan’s nuclear reactors. Up front, the situation is serious,
but under control. And this text is long! But you will know more
about nuclear power plants after reading it than all journalists
on this planet put together.Barry Brook on the situation earlier
Here is a précis of the situation as I understand it: Eli
recommends you go there and read. 1. There is no credible risk
of a serious accident. All reactors responded by insertion of
control rods to shut down their nuclear reactions. Thus, power
levels in all cases dropped quickly to about 5% of maximum
output, and the nuclear chain reaction ceased (i.e., all units
are subcritical). Note: I judge the situation would currently be
rated INES Level 4: Accident with local consequences on the
international nuclear event scale. Update: This level has been
confirmed by WNN (5:50 GMT). 2. The concern is providing
emergency cooling water to t