[firstdown]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

My dad is a retired AF officer, and has a degree in Nuc Engineering. We were talking about this yesterday, and it was a very interesting discussion, but bottomline, the reactors that have had the partial meltdowns are done. Just put a barrier around them and let them sit for a loooooong time. The good news though is that in all the cases so far, the actual containment vessels have reportedly held. The outer shells that blew up were outer structures, not primarily responsible for limiting radioactivity, although they did serve that function for any extraneous radiation.

Another note, as to the difference to Chernobyl, just as an interesting aside, is that Chernobyl used a graphite moderator, which collects radiation and slows the nuclear reaction. When it was on fire, the graphite moderators actually caught on fire, and spewed the radiation up high in to the atmosphere, thus causing the extensive following damage. These reactors, and all united states reactors use a water based moderator, so if it there is a meltdown, the radioactive particles are hooked to steam, which while it needs to be released to avoid pressure buildup, will dissipate quickly, and will not harm the primary containment vessel.

Even with all that, let's hope that these reactors are neutralized quickly, and the surrounding population cared for.

What I don't understand is the cooling down issue and why it takes so long. Did your dad talk about that?