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Originally Posted by ila
There are some things to put in perspective in this situation. The first is that the media are creating needles hysteria by writing about a nuclear meltdown. None of the reactors have experienced a meltdown and there is not much likelihood of one happening.
The earthquake did not cause the problems at the reactor site. It was the tsunami that flooded the generators that run the pumps that cool the reactor. Because the generators were flooded they were not able to pump coolant which led to the overheating problems. This powerplant is forty years old and among the first generation. Generation III reactors are cooled through convection action and therefore do not require pumps to move the coolant. This means that the reactors will be cooled regardless of outside influences.
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Yes the newer designs are much improved, it's too bad the older reactors were not upgraded to the safer technology.
But, again, there is no assurance that some unforeseen event or design problem could cause failure in the newer designs. Its all about risk assessment.
The book "The Black Swan" is a very interesting read.