Yale Prof. Charles Perrow: ‘All Of Humanity Will Be Threatened For Thousands Of Years’ If Two Fuel Rods In Fukushima Reactor No. 4 SFP Touch And Cause A Nuclear Reaction During Removal Process

“Nothing like this has ever been attempted” — Yale Professor: “All of humanity will be threatened for 1000s of years” if rods in Unit 4 pool touch and have nuclear reaction during removal process — Tepco: “Not clear” if fuel is already damaged (ENENews, Oct 27, 2013):

South China Morning Post, Oct. 27, 2013:

  • Nothing remotely similar has been attempted before and while everyone – nuclear experts, government officials, environmental groups and the public – agrees that the rods [in the Unit 4 pool] must be moved to more secure storage,
  • [I]t is feared that any error of judgment could lead to a massive release of radiation into the atmosphere
  • Unit 4 at the plant contains an alarming 10 times as much caesium-137 as was at Chernobyl, experts say
  • [A] spokesman for Tepco […] admitted, however, that it was not clear whether any of the rods were damaged or if debris in the pool would complicate the recovery effort.

Charles Perrow, a professor emeritus at Yale University

  • [He’s] made even more strident warnings
  • “Conditions in the unit 4 pool, 100 feet from the ground, are perilous, and if any two of the rods touch it could cause a nuclear reaction that would be uncontrollable [and] would require the evacuation of surrounding areas including Tokyo”
  • “[Then] the common storage pool could not be continuously cooled; they would fission and all of humanity will be threatened, for thousands of years”

Unnamed nuclear energy expert who’s monitored Tepco during Fukushima crisis

  • “I would prefer to have had some US companies that are experts on spent fuel decommissioning brought in to assist”
  • [S]hould the worst happen at the Fukushima plant […] Some of the contamination would undoubtedly reach Tokyo
  • “If so, go up to a very high floor — Radioactive particles are heavy, so keep out of basements”

3 thoughts on “Yale Prof. Charles Perrow: ‘All Of Humanity Will Be Threatened For Thousands Of Years’ If Two Fuel Rods In Fukushima Reactor No. 4 SFP Touch And Cause A Nuclear Reaction During Removal Process”

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.