I hope it’s merely a fluke that two incidents occurred within 24 hours of each other at nuclear power plants near two major U.S. cities.
On Tuesday, news (see video above) surfaced about a nuclear power plant near Chicago losing power. Less than 24 hours later, news surfaced about a nuclear power plant near San Diego shutting down after a radiation leak.
If another event happens in the near future, I’d have to borrow a phrase from a several-years-old Mazda television commercial where a young boy proclaims, “Something’s up.”
1 response so far ↓
1 James Aach // Feb 2, 2012 at 2:29 pm
I cannot speak to the individual events cited, but based on my years in the nuclear industry, I would note that most folks (and reporters) have a very limited picture of how a nuclear site works, what can go wrong, and what each type of event really means in terms of public safety. As an analogy: if it were your car, a burn-out glove compartment light and a blown engine would both seem equally as bad (and be reported that way).
I can help the average fellow process the atomic news a bit: my free novel “Rad Decision” provides an inside look at the people, politics and technology of US nuclear power. The plant involved and the climatic event bear some simularities to Fukushima. This book is not a polemic – both good and bad are profiled. Rad Decision is free online, no advertisements or sponsors – just google the title or go to my homepage. Reader reviews are at the website or Amazon.
In a democracy, people decide the path forward. I think we’ll make better decisions about our energy future if we first understand our energy present.
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