Massive Japan earthquake exposes risks of nuclear
The massive earthquake in Japan has forced the closure of four nuclear power plants with risks of further problems at the nuclear plants. The situation has highlighted the grave risk of inadequate backup generators at American facilities as well as the potential risks that natural disasters pose to nuclear power generation.
"We do not believe the safety standards for US nuclear reactors are enough to protect the public today," Edwin Lyman, senior scientist, global security programs, at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Reuters. The group supports nuclear power as a means to combat global warming, but wants tougher safety measures.
Lyman said US reactors also do not have enough backup power to ensure a safe shutdown during an emergency. If reactors could lose both off-site power and backup generators it could lead to a core meltdown in a short period of time.
Before any reactor is built in the United States, owners are required to conduct geologic seismic studies to determine the biggest earthquake to have occurred in that area going back thousands of years. As in Japan, US reactors are designed to safely shut in the event of an earthquake. If a bigger earthquake were to occur, the hopeis that plant safety systems would continue to provide the level of safety needed to shut the plant but there would likely be some degradation, though not more than the plant was designed for. Nuclear plants need power to keep water flowing over the fuel rods to prevent overheating.
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