It reminds me how very few of those involved in building things really, truly respect scientific rigour and make a serious attempt to actually know their shit. I know because I see it first hand, all the time, including in projects contracted by NASA. There's a ridiculous amount of cross-checking and testing that prevents it from being a serious problem most of the time, but as we can see it can cause oversights that can rear their ugly heads unexpectedly.
And this is why it's troubling to see people pushing so hard for nuclear with the battle-cry "we've figured it all out". We have to keep having it figured it out as long as the reactor as around, until they are fully decommissioned (which takes many years after they stop being productive). And there have to always be a handful of people who know their shit, always paying attention, and who can somehow resist the bullshit.
In 1998 one of the nuclear plants near Toronto, Ontario was taken out of service. During the Fukushima troubles, it sprang a coolant leak into Lake Ontario. Insignificant radiation, they say, and I'm inclined to believe them, but still... I have to worry about a nuclear plant 30km from me that was taken offline 13 years ago?
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Thanks for reminding me about Feynman's comments on the first shuttle disaster. For those curious, here's a nice summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Commission_Report#Role_o...
It reminds me how very few of those involved in building things really, truly respect scientific rigour and make a serious attempt to actually know their shit. I know because I see it first hand, all the time, including in projects contracted by NASA. There's a ridiculous amount of cross-checking and testing that prevents it from being a serious problem most of the time, but as we can see it can cause oversights that can rear their ugly heads unexpectedly.
And this is why it's troubling to see people pushing so hard for nuclear with the battle-cry "we've figured it all out". We have to keep having it figured it out as long as the reactor as around, until they are fully decommissioned (which takes many years after they stop being productive). And there have to always be a handful of people who know their shit, always paying attention, and who can somehow resist the bullshit.
In 1998 one of the nuclear plants near Toronto, Ontario was taken out of service. During the Fukushima troubles, it sprang a coolant leak into Lake Ontario. Insignificant radiation, they say, and I'm inclined to believe them, but still... I have to worry about a nuclear plant 30km from me that was taken offline 13 years ago?