THE HILL: Company warns of 'imminent radiological threat' after Chinese nuclear plant leak: report

[PimTac]

I don’t know which is worse? The Chinese being closed mouth on this or the news media trying to incite fear in the public?

https://www.newsweek.com/china-nucl...ernobyl-taishan-facility-insists-safe-1600236

 

[wemay]

I don’t know which is worse? The Chinese being closed mouth on this or the news media trying to incite fear in the public?

https://www.newsweek.com/china-nucl...ernobyl-taishan-facility-insists-safe-1600236

Yeah, that headline is pretty.... atrocious.

 

[OVERKILL]

So if the Xeon was discharged with only 9.2 days half life (is that correct?), how far can it travel distance wise?

Sorry, I just realized I said Xeon, it should have been Xenon. Since Xenon is a noble gas and doesn't really combine with anything else, and is naturally occurring, it's of very low risk.

 

[PandaBear]

Sorry, I just realized I said Xeon, it should have been Xenon. Since Xenon is a noble gas and doesn't really combine with anything else, and is naturally occurring, it's of very low risk.

Even the Xe135? or by the time they release it they are already stable and no longer Xe135?

 

[OVERKILL]

Even the Xe135? or by the time they release it they are already stable and no longer Xe135?

Xe135 decays rapidly as you note, so it's not really a concern. The filtration/processing systems designed to pull these elements out and hold them until they decay being overwhelmed is where the risk of small release comes from. If the fuel leak(s) is/are large enough for this to occur, other mitigation mechanisms (like selective control rod isolation to drive down fission in certain areas) to reduce it would take place. Clearly, EDF had something in mind there but wanted US permission in order to share that with CGN.

 

[Snowflake White]

More western mass media fear mongering.

 

[Barkleymut]

I assumed he was being sarcastic

Yup

 

[PandaBear]

News is out, there are 5 fuel rods with cracks, out of 60k fuel rods.

 

[wpod]

China is dosing the protesters in Hong Kong.

 

[OVERKILL]

News is out, there are 5 fuel rods with cracks, out of 60k fuel rods.

Yup, just as I said. It's a non-event, and used to happen very frequently in the States. EDF apparently had a bit of a time building the fuel assemblies for the EPR, since they had never done them before:
(old WNN article) https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/First-fuel-produced-for-Chinese-EPR

So, I assume China has produced this most recent load themselves (I would assume they wouldn't want to depend on foreign fab), and that they'll be going through growing pains in doing so.

 

[wemay]

New Scientist News: How serious is the nuclear power plant radiation leak in China?.
https://www.newscientist.com/articl...m_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=news

 

[OVERKILL]

New Scientist News: How serious is the nuclear power plant radiation leak in China?.
https://www.newscientist.com/articl...m_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=news

Yup, lots of hype about nothing by people that know nothing about the subject. It's pretty sad but unfortunately expected in today's headline/click-driven news.

 

[BeerCan]

Yup, lots of hype about nothing by people that know nothing about the subject. It's pretty sad but unfortunately expected in today's headline/click-driven news.

Clickbait type of headlines have actually made me better informed on some subjects now. They force me to question everything and try and see what position is being pushed. They force me to dig deeper for the truth in many cases.

 

[Thermo1223]

Taishan is located in Guangdong, China. The plant has two French (EFD) EPR 1,750MW reactors which came online in 2018/2019. They are an extremely robust and safe design.

Building upon that, Xenon will float harmlessly off into space as it rises in the atmosphere if my memory is correct.

 

[PandaBear]

Building upon that, Xenon will float harmlessly off into space as it rises in the atmosphere if my memory is correct.

Xenon is pretty heavy, I doubt it will float into space.

https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-float-a-liquid-on-a-gas

 

[OVERKILL]

Building upon that, Xenon will float harmlessly off into space as it rises in the atmosphere if my memory is correct.

It decays VERY quickly, which is why it isn't much of a concern.

 

[wemay]

Clickbait type of headlines have actually made me better informed on some subjects now. They force me to question everything and try and see what position is being pushed. They force me to dig deeper for the truth in many cases.

Same here.

 

[Creekside]

@OVERKILL always enjoy reading your posts on this stuff. You’ve probably forgotten more than many of us will ever know about these subjects.

 

[kschachn]

Xenon is pretty heavy, I doubt it will float into space.

https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-float-a-liquid-on-a-gas

Right, it is a very dense gas especially when compared to other monoatomic gasses.

 

[Kawiguy454]

This isnt really a problem, nothing to see here, move along ...and if it is its because a bat or pengalin chewed through some wires under the dash.