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Posted by daestrom on July 4, 2008, 9:15 pm
Please log in for more thread options Eeyore wrote:
> daestrom wrote:
>
>> Eeyore wrote:
>>> daestrom wrote:
>>>
>>>> Actually there have been several more accidents than '1.5 melt
>>>> downs'. Windscale spread contamination to the surrounding
>>>> grasslands and dairy cattle.
>>>
>>> Not a melt-down though, simply a (mainly) graphite fire.
>>>
>>>> SL-1 killed three men outright in a steam explosion.
>>>
>>> Not a melt-down either IIRC.
>>
>> Which is why I said 'steam explosion'.
>>
>> When you look at Chernobyl, it wasn't really a 'melt down' either,
>> it was a steam explosion and graphite fire. A combination of the
>> SL-1 steam explosion and the fire at Windscale.
>>
>> The 'graphite fire' at Chernobyl was responsible for a lot of the
>> spread of contamination, somewhat like Windscale. Most of the
>> immediate deaths were fire-fighters trying to put out the graphite
>> fire.
>>
>>>> Fermi I melted most of the core.
>>>
>>> Aren't breeders fun ?
>>
>> The melt at Fermi I had nothing to do with being a breeder. Other
>> breeders have been run successfully on an experimental scale.
>
> Precious few of them ! The UK ones never moved much past 30% load
> factor IIRC. And as for sodium leaks ! The Russians have have some
> sodium cooled reactors in a few SSNs btw.
>
The US had a sodium plant in a submarine once too. But it was not very
reliable and the primary system was replaced with a conventional light-water
plant.
But breeders don't *have* to use sodium, I think the Canadians are looking
at breeding with their CANDU heavy-water technology.
The number varies with who you read, but between 30 and 40% of the energy
from a typical LWR reactor comes from fuel that was 'bred' in place from the
U-238. Quite a way to go to get over 100%, but it's a start.
daestrom
> Graham
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