Five years ago , Anthony Sarrack , an locomotive engineer at a Minnesota atomic plant life , warned the US authorities that their coarse parking brake vents would n’t exercise in a disaster . He was ignored . Two months ago , Fukushima exploded because of those same vents .
The vents at Sarrack ’s plant require electricity to open up — which is precisely what worker at Fukushima did n’t have when the plant was smashed by a quake and tsunami . No succus and no vent means a buildup of dangerous gasses — and then your plant explode . doubly . Sarrack foresaw this happen in the US , the New York Times reports , and turned to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission . They did n’t agree with his ( right ) critique , prompting him to fly the industry entirely in dismay .
So what does Sarrack mean would avert a Fukushima repeat ? How do we replace the GE - invent vent with something safer ? Take the human component out of the par . He believe
“ A inactive arrangement , like one using a break disk , would work better and could be adjust to rupture at a imperativeness just slightly less than the pressure at which the containment would tear . In those cases , he allege , discharge is always preferable ; the releases of radioactive textile during calculated venting are expected to be lower than those result from explosion . ”
At any rate , the lesson here is to listen to your engine driver . I doubt there can be such a affair as too much thoughtfulness when it comes to keep nuclear plants from exploding . [ NYT ]
EnergyFukushimaJapanNuclear great power
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