| 4' in Freedom Units. I'm wondering how well utilities and megastructures on the Noto Peninsula are able to cope with gradual and sudden shifts, even in Japan where earthquakes are assumed. It looks like Noto is being ripped and stretched NW from the mainland. --- Also, I re-read the Fukushima Daiichi report summaries yesterday. It's an almost universal human condition that plays out again and again: corporate risk management for large projects is done improperly, especially when there are constraints and cognitive dissonance imposed by the business culture, and it leads to a major failure. Points of the failure chain include: - Failure to account for known unknown risks such as the land subsidence combined with a large tsunami (based on the coastal geomorphology of the specific site). - Failure to protect critical EDGs from flooding, e.g., seawater intrusion. If trying to run a diesel motor near the ocean, it must be buttoned-up tighter than a Jeep with a snorkel including waterproofing sensors, wiring, and control systems. In general, sites should be chosen on very high ground with a large safety factor. If that's not possible, they should be placed on elevated, reinforced structures. - GE BWR-3/-4 (Mark I) core design is such that they can overheat and self-destruct, even if scrammed, because cooling is an absolute requirement at all times. - A lack of redundant, auxiliary, passive cooling ability, such as a gravity-fed reservoir that can be operated manually. - Regulators did insufficient due-diligence to prevent these risks. - "Made in Japan" failure of culture (this was part of the final report). - Using radionuclides that are inherently dangerous and produce forever waste rather than cheaper alternatives like solar with PES. Japan's solar just overtook nuclear, but still relies heavily on coal and gas. BWRs are inherently nastier than PWRs. Non-problems at FD: - Scramming worked properly, but the primary loops were still hot. Disclaimer: Worked in the nuclear industry where hostnames were Simpsons' character names. |