Nuclear meltdown They had to see this coming

[Lawdog]

I dont know if I just see the negative in everything or weather its the lawyer in me or the machinest in me but they have had to see this thing coming. Its the exact same scenario as the Gulf Oil disaster. You dont put Emergency Shut off valves and Emergency Generators in close proximity to where they can be damaged by the very same thing you are trying to prevent with their use. When you have a highly volatile situation, you have to have a back up switch off site away from the danger. If they had that in the Gulf oil drig operation, a cut off switch on the main land to shut the valve, that whole disaster would have been avoided. AND now they are mandating it on new rig developement, after the fact! If they have a Nuclear Power plant on an ISLAND, DUH, a Backup Generator should be located on the highest ground available. Yeah its expensive, I know to run cable hundreds of miles but we are talking about Billions of dollars in building these things and the cost would be nominal compared to the alternative. All of the Nuclear Plants in this country should be examined in light of this disaster to determine their off location backup generator systems and off location cooling tanks available to extinguish the problem.

I just cant believe that these guys and gals are nuclear scientists and they miss out on the logistics of the big picture. What a tragedy that could have been entirely avoided with a little thought.

Oh well just had to get that off my chest, lol

[TonyNo]

Our future, for now, is nuclear. I think this event will be problematic for us moving forward. We need those damn Thorium reactors now!

[SurveyOrange]

Being a civil engineer, I understand exactly what you are saying. For the most part engineers overdesign to cover unforeseen events, however in the end it all comes down to money. The project is designed by the lowest bidder and then is built by the lowest bidder. Am I the only one that understands the saying "you get what you pay for"? I personally think that needs to change, not just for nuclear plants but for bridges and buildings. I need to vent to. Thanks

[HumanWiki]

Being a civil engineer, I understand exactly what you are saying. For the most part engineers overdesign to cover unforeseen events, however in the end it all comes down to money. The project is designed by the lowest bidder and then is built by the lowest bidder. Am I the only one that understands the saying "you get what you pay for"? I personally think that needs to change, not just for nuclear plants but for bridges and buildings. I need to vent to. Thanks

As an IT guy.. I see that in my field too.. I've designed all manner of solution, but it gets hacked to pieces when people see the $$$ of it. Of course, when it goes and fails in some way I had previously accounted for, I get the "why didn't you see this coming?" response.

[Toasty]

As an IT guy.. I see that in my field too.. I've designed all manner of solution, but it gets hacked to pieces when people see the $$$ of it. Of course, when it goes and fails in some way I had previously accounted for, I get the "why didn't you see this coming?" response.

eh, just remember... you can't fix stupid!

LOL

[libertyforall1776]

The thing about the Gulf Oil disaster was that prior to that location being worked, BP wanted to drill in shallower waters, but government forced BP to drill in much deeper waters than usually done and was untested/unfamiliar/more risks. Heck, there are a LOT more safer places to drill, like in the Rockies/west like say Montana...

That whole "ring of fire" area is very potentially volatile -- see video:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z66FBFla8Fo&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - Update on the Rim of Fire Earthquake Warning[/ame]

Sure seems like the backups for the backups for cooling weren't well thought out! After all, aren't top priorities for nuclear power plants both containment and cooling?

On a related note, the Zion nuclear plant is closed, but is there still nuclear fuel/waste there? I once watched Independence Day fireworks from the tops of the Zion plant -- nice view.

[HumanWiki]

eh, just remember... you can't fix stupid!

LOL

No, we usually promote it to Upper Management.