How solar storms could create a global fukushima

Terrifying article outlines how a geomagnetic storm could knock out most of the worlds nuclear plants:

truth-out.org...

reply to post by openminded2011


Where is the rest of your post?
At least give some reason as to why we should visit this link, and also what this link contains.

Lazy thread is lazy...

This i s a worst case scenario, and it all depent on the backup system provided for such a scenario.

At Fukushima everything went wrong, cause one tsunami took out every backup available.
How it would have turned out, is only to imagine, if those backup system were not placed right next to the reactors.

In this scenario it propably would be different, as it's all about fuel for the backup generators that could go wrong.
If fuel is available, i don't think it would turn out as bad as Fukushima.

Let's hope they learned from Fukushima, and they have taken precausion for what ever may happen.

reply to post by Mianeye


I know that newer reactors are designed so that they can self cool by convection, but any backup that relies on electricity would be threatened by a solar storm that could disrupt our power gird, i imagine

reply to post by Mkoll

Yes...But they all have a diesel backup generator/generators, if the main powergrid is to fail.

Fukushima also had backup diesel generators, they were all placed underground, but the fuel tanks were not, and got washed away by the tsunami.

Just took a link, info might not be exactly accurate, i am lazy to
online.wsj.com...

One area of scrutiny is the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex's back-up diesel-powered generators, which are below ground level and housed in secure rooms. The 13 generators are intended to kick in when the plant loses power.

The Japanese plant lost power during Friday's earthquake. The three reactors in operation shut off automatically as designed, but a lack of electricity left workers unable to operate their cooling systems, leading to overheating. Tepco says the tsunami paralyzed all but one backup generator. Their fuel tanks, which were kept above ground, appear to have been washed away.

reply to post by openminded2011


An excellent link! TY for the post! This is the "true 2012" scenario that I am always telling to my friends. Since we as humans have justa "tiny knowledge" about our universe, solar storms and celesstial alignment are things we have not much of a clue of yet. Thus an overly depending on technology society is as such quite vourlenrable to these "unknown" events. Far from subscribing to Aliens and UFO scenarios, I rather stick to the simple answeres and propabilities. And this scenario is a much more propable one than anything else.
Should or would it happen, then we have an end of the world as we "Know it".
It is very clear to me, that it is always the complexity of a society that brings a civilization down, not so much a war or massive invasion. And it is always the "primitive/simple" people who survive it. As we nudists say: "You cnat pick-pocked a naked man"

Originally posted by Mianeye
Lazy thread is lazy...

This i s a worst case scenario, and it all depent on the backup system provided for such a scenario.

At Fukushima everything went wrong, cause one tsunami took out every backup available.
How it would have turned out, is only to imagine, if those backup system were not placed right next to the reactors.

In this scenario it propably would be different, as it's all about fuel for the backup generators that could go wrong.
If fuel is available, i don't think it would turn out as bad as Fukushima.

Let's hope they learned from Fukushima, and they have taken precausion for what ever may happen.

Greetings:

Perhaps this thread will give some of the answers you seek.

Japan declares a ‘nuclear emergency‘ after quake

...If fuel is available...

That's the point, isn't it?

BTW, there are many more than the bandied-about number '104' commercial reactors to be concerned with.

The following thread is the beginning of a comprehensive, up-to-date 'status report' on the 'real deal' involving nuclear energy in these United States of America.

Will America's Nuclear Power Plants Fail in an 8.0 Earthquake?

Should one be motivated to participate, please join us on any of our signature threads.

Thank you for your time, consideration and participation.

Peace Love Light
tfw
[align=center][color=magenta]Liberty & Equality or Revolution[/align]

reply to post by thorfourwinds

I was very active in that thread my self, so it's not new to me.

One of the best thread i have participated in, i am unhappy to say.

But i learned a lot, and it was also my real introduction to ATS and some of the most educated and wise people in here.

The fuel thing, well, i just hope, can't do much more.

Edit: Thanks for the second link, willl look thru, I might learn some more

reply to post by Mianeye


A backup diesel generator for a nuclear plant is not the kind we drag out of the shed and yank to start though. I am not sure which industrial backup generators have electronic fuel injection, but the ones that do would be unable to function in the event of a solar emp. The generators would also not start automatically, as the computers would be fried, but any nuclear plant crew would get right on starting that up.

Anyways, older generators that lack electronic fuel injection would most likely be able to run and hopefully save the day.

I don't know where else broken computer technology could cause trouble in a nuke plant, but I would not be surprised if something small but important gets broken and causes a catastophe

I'm sure it's very possible, but you can never know exactly when things like that happen. Could be this year, but who knows. Of course you should prepare for a worst-case situation, but...

I think martial law is much more of a legitimate threat.

reply to post by Mkoll

There is no such thing as a "solar EMP". While the effects of a CME resemble the "heave" effects of a nuclear detonation (E3 effect), neither one has any effect on electronics. It is the E1 effect which damages electronic devices.

The E3 effect is similar to a geomagnetic storm in that it results in fluctuations in Earth's magnetic field. This can cause harm to electrical grids by virtue of induced currents in long conductors like powerlines.

reply to post by Phage


I admit that I have no specific knowledge on how solar activity could damage our stuff, but at least I was right about electronics getting damaged and transformers exploding

To what extent do you think that this kind of activity could disrupt nuclear power plant activities phage?

wrong thread.

Originally posted by Mkoll
reply to post by Phage

 

I admit that I have no specific knowledge on how solar activity could damage our stuff, but at least I was right about electronics getting damaged and transformers exploding

To what extent do you think that this kind of activity could disrupt nuclear power plant activities phage?

edit on 30-3-2012 by Mkoll because: (no reason given)

Nuclear power plants require external power to operate under normal conditions. In the event of a solar flare extreme enough to knock out the grid with Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs), they would have to shut the plant down until power could be restored.

This would mean the backup generators kicking in to provide power enough to shut down the plant and insert the control rods to avoid meltdown.

Electronics wouldn't be fried, as Phage said, but grid infrastructure like transformers would be exposed to GICs. Think of it like this. The longer the conductor the more powerful the disturbance. The more powerful the disturbance, the higher the potential to damage critical infrastructure.

The reason this is such a problem with a severe solar storm (or an EMP for that matter, though the effects of an EMP would be more severe) is that the lead time for production of new transformers is on the order of years per unit. I'm sure with enough organization this could be cut in half or quartered, but its still quite a long time to be without power.