Word: reactors
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...which makes the appearance of Meltdown at Montague especially welcome. The pamphlet/book, compiled by a group of students and faculty at political trend-setting Hampshire College, details what would happen if a nuclear reactor's radioactive pile got out of control. Known in the trade as "meltdown" because the core reaches an incredible temperature and eventually fuses together--the process creates a virtually unstoppable reaction that releases large quantities of radiation into the atmosphere...
MELTDOWN AT MONTAGUE, however, does not indulge in scare tactics. The possibility of a meltdown, while admittedly slight, does exist. Many people forget the two near-disasters within the last 12 years: in 1966 the Fermi reactor near Detroit suffered a partial meltdown; in 1974 the Browns' Ferry reactor in Alabama went completely out of control when a careless maintenance worker started a fire among the cables used to dampen the reaction, knocking out both the primary and secondary safety systems. Plant engineers later said it was a miracle that they managed to regain control over the reactor before...
SAFETY. Only a handful of hysterics believe that a conventional nuclear plant could explode in a mushroom cloud and wipe out a city. But many fear less dramatic accidents, including "melt down," which could occur if a reactor lost the water used to control the temperature of its core, ruptured and released radioactive gas and other material. Many also worry about radioactive contamination and fear that those living near nuclear plants may be subject to constant and eventually deadly exposure to radiation...
...fears are understandable, but the record so far is reassuring. Nobody in the U.S. has been injured as a result of a commercial reactor accident since the first nuclear power plant went on line 20 years ago. Indeed, with all the legally required safety devices-such as strong containment vessels, automatic shutoffs and complete back-up systems-the risks of injury or death are extremely small. It has been estimated that even with 100 reactors operating (the U.S. now has 71), the odds that anybody will die in a reactor accident are 1 in 300 million a year. The risk...
...Senators were irritated by the Administration's tactics in getting the compromise approved. Specifically, Senator James McClure, an Idaho Republican, signed the conference report only after Energy Secretary James Schlesinger promised him that the Administration would support a $1.5 billion appropriation for the development of a fast breeder reactor on which most of the research would be done in Idaho. That deal angered Tennessee Senators Howard Baker and James Sasser, who support the Clinch River breeder reactor in their state-a project Carter has opposed. Oregon's Mark Hatfield and Arkansas' Dale Bumpers, who oppose any breeder...