Um....Is blowing up a nuclear reactor safe?

[mrreowwr_kittty]

CNN is reporting that N. Korea is planning to do that.

[Ian David]

1. If it weren't safe, do you think Kim Jung Il would do it? Do you think he's crazy?

Uhm...


Gee...

[cobalt1999]

5. LOL

I love it.

[TahitiNut]

2. Well, of course!! After all, if it wasn't then Israel's IDF wouldn't do it, right?

:eyes:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Do you mean they're going to demolish one?

No big deal.

[orleans]

4. i don't know. is it a "working" reactor? either way, blowing it up

doesn't sound safe.

maybe dismantling it...slowly and carefully...containing any radiation hanging around...???

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. If you want to know sooner, go to

Chernobyl. The HUGE steel plate that makes the roof of the reactor building has been tottering since the accident. It is too hot to deal with directly, and the concrete is eroding every day. If, no, when it collapses into the reactor section it will raise a gigantic cloud of radioactive dust several thousand times worse than the original accident.

Currently, the latest plan is to build a huge containment building around the containment building, in the hopes that the collapse can be contained inside.

[Ian David]

7. N.Korea invites media to nuclear plant blast

June 23, 2008 -- Updated 1655 GMT (0055 HKT)
N.Korea invites media to nuclear plant blast

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- North Korea is to blow up a key part of its controversial Yongbyon nuclear reactor on Friday.

The destruction of the plant's cooling tower is part of an agreement with the United States aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula in exchange for loosening some restrictions on the highly secretive Communist country.

The North Korean government has invited news organizations, including CNN, to witness the event.

Earlier this year, Pyongyang agreed to disable its nuclear reactor and provide a full accounting of its plutonium stockpile, "acknowledge" concerns about its proliferation activities and its uranium enrichment activity, and agree to continue cooperation with a verification process to ensure no further activities are taking place.

<snip>

The United States softened its demand {APPEASEMENT!?!!?!} that North Korea publicly admit to having a highly enriched uranium program and to providing Syria with nuclear technology, key unanswered questions that have left negotiations stalled for months.

More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/23/nuclear.nk/

[TheMightyFavog]

10. It's just one of the cooling towers, folks.

Cooling towers are not one of the "hot" parts of a nuke plant.

[pokerfan]

11. Oh... the cooling tower

The original post said they were blowing up the reactor.

[Ian David]

12. The Tower? The Tower? Rapunzel! Rapunzel!

[Fireweed247]

8. Maybe they are just messing with us...

trying to show the absurdity of blowing up Iran's nuclear facilities.

[Star80]

9. I reckon...

its about as safe (and as smart) as lighting an M80 and eating it.

[lurky]

13. Just remember to take out the uranium first...