Saturday, April 9, 2011

19th (and Final) Interview with My Dad, a Nuclear Engineer, about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Japan

You can listen to all the interviews on the new vimeo channel Brandon and I created. You can also listen to most of the interviews on Brad Go's YouTube channel.

Here's the vimeo channel:


Brad Go's YouTube channel: 


This evening my dad and I recorded our 19th interview on the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Please see the rest of the blog (sidebar) for previous interviews. This is the final interview in our series. If you would like to send a message to me or my father about this or any of the previous interviews, you can do so in a comment below or by sending an email to georneysblog@gmail.com. You can also follow me on twitter @GeoEvelyn. My dad in particular has put an enormous amount of work into research for these interviews. If you would like to send him a thank-you message, I promise to pass it along to him.

In today's interview:
1. My dad gives a quick update about Fukushima

2. My dad discusses 5 types of Generation III and Generation III+ nuclear power plants (click on links below for more information on each plant):

(a.) EPR AREVA

(b.) APR1400

(c.) AP1000

(d.) ESBWR

(e.) Thorium Reactors

Several links, thanks to a listener also named Mark:

Summary of multiple videos on Thorium reactor, (16 minutes):

One of the better long videos on Thorium reactor, (55 minutes):

A written article on the Thorium fuel cycle:

A written article on the molten salt reactor that the Thorium fuel uses:

(3.) My dad talks about the importance of evaluating spent fuel pool safety & long-term storage of spent fuel rods

Hope to have an audio link soon. Here is the interview on vimeo:


Please see the announcement page for more information about these interviews:


If you have time and interest, please transcribe this interview or volunteer to transcribe Interviews 17 & 18 (16 is in progress). This is our last interview.

Some Final Notes:
As I announced before, I will be compiling all of the interview transcripts into a book that I will be self-publishing on Lulu. My goal is to have this book available by the end of April. I will try to keep the cost of the book fairly low, and I will donate 25% of the book profits to charities (such as the Red Cross, see the sidebar for a list of charities) benefiting Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster relief. The remaining profits I will use to recover some the expenses I had to put forth (paying for several different recording softwares before Skype came forward and helped, a new headset, and video hosting costs on vimeo) over the past month. Anything leftover I will share with my dad, who has put forth a tremendous amount of effort for these interviews. If you would like to support us (and Japan disaster relief), you can buy the book from Lulu when it comes out and/or you can use the paypal button (see blog sidebar) to make a small donation.  If you prefer that 100% of your money goes to Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster relief, please consider a donation to one of the charities listed on my blog sidebar or any of a number of other relief organizations.

The interview audios and transcripts will remain freely available here always. I also hope to put together the audios in podcast format in the near future-- if you have tips on how to make this happen, please post a comment or send an email.

Finally, I would like to say a big THANK YOU you to all of the people who volunteered their time and expertise to help me with audio quality, hosting, and transcriptions. My helpers are too numerous for me to list here, but I will compile a long thank you list (first names) to put in the Lulu book. I have already mailed many of you pretty rocks as thank-you presents. There are still a few of you I need to mail rocks to-- I will try to do so in the next couple of weeks. Note that I am a geologist and so I consider *most* rocks pretty, but hopefully some of you appreciate the rocks I have sent you.

I would also like to say a big THANK YOU to all of the thousands upon thousands of people who listened to these interviews, read these interviews, and sent my father and I comments and emails. We hope that these interviews have been helpful for you, and we are happy that we were able to continue them as long as we did-- a full month.

In the near future this blog will return to being a geology blog. I hope that a few of you will stay to learn about geology and read about some of my geological travels and adventures. However, I will not be offended at all if many of you decide to no longer follow this blog, which will no longer focus on nuclear power.

As a transition back to geology, in a few days I will blog a little about the Oklo Natural Nuclear Reactor-- a nuclear reactor that occurred naturally due to some unusual conditions a long, long time ago in what is today Gabon, Africa. There is no danger of natural nuclear reactors developing on Earth today, but this is an interesting ancient geological phenomenon that can teach a little about nuclear reactors, including possible lessons for long-term storage and migration of nuclear fission products.
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Thursday, April 7, 2011

18th Interview with My Dad, a Nuclear Engineer, about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Japan

You can listen to all the interviews on the new vimeo channel Brandon and I created. You can also listen to most of the interviews on Brad Go's YouTube channel.

Here's the vimeo channel:


Brad Go's YouTube channel: 


This afternoon my dad and I recorded our 18th interview on the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Please see the rest of the blog (sidebar) for previous interviews. We are no longer answering listener questions, but please do continue to send emails to georneysblog@gmail.com. We really do appreciate all the comments and nice emails we receive! You can also follow me on twitter @GeoEvelyn.

Here are some websites we refer to in today's interview:




In today's interview:
1. My dad gives his usual update

2.We address a final batch of questions from listeners:

(a.) Is there a possibility that radioactive water is seeping into the ground? What potential harm could this cause?

(b.) How could it happen that, after much less than a century of nuclear power, we've got an accident that is completely beyond the design basis of a nuclear plant? Aren't the designs of these plants supposed to take into account events far rarer than that? Was this so out of the blue that we can be reasonably sure something like this won't happen again in the next, say, 200 years, or does this mean that in the next couple of decades, we might well have another disaster, perhaps of some completely different nature, that is so beyond the design basis of a plant that its safety mechanisms are as compromised as we've seen at Fukushima?

(c.) Why do they build several nuclear reactors close together, such as the 6 reactors and 7 spent fuel pools at Fukushima? What are the advantages of building several reactors close together? What are the disadvantages of building several reactors close together?

(d.) What missing information do you wish you had to help you better understand what is happening at Fukushima?

Hope to have an audio link soon. Here is the interview on vimeo:


Please see the announcement page for more information about these interviews:


If you have time and interest, please transcribe this interview. Our final wrap-up interview will take place on Saturday, April 9th.
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Monday, April 4, 2011

Announcement: The End of the Interviews with my Dad, a Nuclear Engineer

As my dad and I just announced in Interview 17, we have decided to do just two more interviews about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan.

We will conduct a last interview update on Thursday, April 7th. This will be the last interview in which we address questions from listeners, so please email any remaining questions you may have to georneysblog@gmail.com as soon as possible.

On Saturday, April 9th we will conduct a final interview in which we summarize the previous interviews. In this final interview my dad will also discuss newer generations of nuclear power plants and talk a little about a proposed idea to use thorium, rather than uranium, as a fuel source in nuclear power plants.

After Saturday, we will not conduct any more interviews unless there is a major development at Fukushima. We may also conduct the occasional interview from time to time to remind people that the nuclear disaster at Fukushima will take months to years to fully resolve and overcome.

We hope that these interviews have been helpful for people. As I mentioned in a previous note, I will be compiling all of the interview transcripts in an easy-to-read book form. My father and I will be self-publishing this book on Lulu (unless a publisher wants to come forth and help us?), and we will donate 25% of the book profits to earthquake and tsunami disaster relief in Japan. The book will include all of the interviews through the interview we will be doing on Saturday, and there will also be some extra information on my father and I (including a collection of family photos) and a chapter compiling some of the many, many emails and comments we have received over the course of doing these interviews. The interviews will remain freely available here always; I just thought that some people might like the interview transcripts available in an easier-to-read book form.

There are still a few interviews that need transcriptions. If anyone would like to transcribe some or all of Interviews 14, 15, 16, and 17, my father and I would be most grateful. I can send payment in the form of pretty rocks or gear from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where I am a graduate student.
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17th Interview with My Dad, a Nuclear Engineer, about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Japan

Radiation in Daily Life. Figure taken from MEXT website here (click on any of the PDFs and scroll to last page).Click figure to view larger. My dad refers to this figure in the interview today.
You can listen to all the interviews on the new vimeo channel Brandon and I created. You can also listen to most of the interviews on Brad Go's YouTube channel.

Here's the vimeo channel:


Brad Go's YouTube channel: 


This afternoon my dad and I recorded our 17th interview on the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Please see the rest of the blog (sidebar) for previous interviews. Please keep sending questions and comments to georneysblog@gmail.com. You can also follow me on twitter @GeoEvelyn but please do not send questions via twitter. Please note that our next interview will be the LAST interview in which we will address listener questions, so send in your questions if you have them.

Here are some websites we refer to in today's interview:






In today's interview:
1. My dad gives his usual update

2.We address questions from listeners:

(a.) Can you explain some of the different units that are used to measure radiation and radioactivity?

(b.) Can you comment on the radiation reports on the MEXT website? 

(c.) Is it possible the Fukushima plants did have hardened vents but they were inoperable due to air-operated valves which were dependent on air compressors which were without power?

(d.) In the US plants are required to show they can survive an extended station blackout (this sort of accident) and make design and procedure changes if they couldn't under their original design. Did the Japanese regulator follow the US lead in this area?

Hope to have an audio link soon. Here is the interview on vimeo:


Please see the announcement page for more information about these interviews:


If you have time and interest, please transcribe this interview. Our next interview will be on Thursday, April 7th. This will be the LAST update interview before our final wrap-up interview.
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Sunday, April 3, 2011

A Quick Note: A Message from My Dad, a Nuclear Engineer, for TEPCO and the Japanese Government

A message from my dad for the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Japanese government, from Interview 16:

"We've tried to remain calm and rational and not get too excited. So, just because we haven't raised our voice and started yelling and screaming doesn't indicate at all that we don't have concerns. I think from early on, if you go back and listen to some of the early interviews, the lack of transparency from TEPCO-- I've been saying all along I think before, definitely before, the mainstream press, and I remember in one of the interviews early on I was really happy when finally Anderson Cooper was starting to take them to task for their lack of transparency-- we've been saying since day one that TEPCO has not been forthcoming. And, in the last interview, and I realize it's probably been three days, we talked about: hey [TEPCO], two-and-a-half weeks into this, now three weeks into this, how come you can't get two or three reactor operators or engineers together from some of your other plants [and] interpret for the public what's going on and produce a comprehensive briefing every day? And their [TEPCO's] press releases are still not very informative.

The other thing that we've commented on is the lack of a website that an average person can go to and have the radiation and contamination readings in plain English so that they can understand where it's above the limit and where it's below the limit and where they should and should not be concerned. And the IAEA had at least put some information out there, and we had referenced people to it a few days ago, but still as far as I know, today-- now there may be a site in Japanese that I can't find or read-- but to my knowledge there's still not a website that people can go to that shows them: here's the radiation and contamination readings for the past twenty-four to forty-eight hours-- and here's where we are above the limit, here's where we are below the limit. It just doesn't seem to exist. The information is scattered. Clearly, I think the Japanese government could be doing a better job there. I'm surprised that they're not.

And the other thing  that we pointed out-- we had a very long discussion about venting and the fact that the NRC in the US had required plants with the Mark I containment to go back in and put in hardened vent systems and that TEPCO obviously didn't do that-- now they're not in the United States so they're not compelled to follow orders from the NRC, but certainly they were aware that this design change had been required in the US, and I think TEPCO as a nuclear operator has a responsibility to do the right thing whether they are required by the government or not. But also-- where was the Japanese government in requiring this for the plants in Japan? So, as far as I'm concerned they're both at fault. And that has to be looked at. The Japanese government has to look at their regulatory agency and say: okay, what else should have been done to our nuclear power plants in Japan that we haven't required?...

...given the lack of transparency, given the lack of implementation of the design changes, given some of the other shortcomings that we've heard of in terms of radiation suits and radiation badges, I don't think it's unreasonable to question if TEPCO should be allowed to continue to operate nuclear power plants. Now, I'm not yelling, I'm not screaming, but I don't think I can be any clearer in saying that I don't trust TEPCO, and I'm not sure anybody else should either based on what's happened during this accident. "

-Cdr. Mark L. Mervine, Nuclear Engineer (USNR, Ret.) 
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16th Interview with My Dad, a Nuclear Engineer, about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster in Japan

You can listen to all the interviews on the new vimeo channel Brandon and I created. You can also listen to most of the interviews on Brad Go's YouTube channel.

Here's the vimeo channel:


Brad Go's YouTube channel: 


This afternoon my dad and I recorded our 16th interview on the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Please see the rest of the blog (sidebar) for previous interviews. Please keep sending questions and comments to georneysblog@gmail.com. You can also follow me on twitter @GeoEvelyn but please do not send questions via twitter.

Here is a website we refer to in today's interview:


In today's interview:
1. My dad gives his usual update

2.We address numerous questions from listeners:

(a.) What is going on with the resin they are spraying at Fukushima to lower radioactive particulate dispersal?

(b.) The rescue effort is now bringing some large barges with fresh water, and there is talk about re-purposing a gigantic floating platform as a radioactive water holding tank.  Clearly, this has never been done before.  How long would the highly radioactive water have to be stored in the floating platform before it could be dispersed into the ocean more safely?

(c.) What potential problems will there be because there is so much radioactive water being generated at Fukushima? What will happen with these large volumes of highly radioactive water?

(d.) Are they now planning concrete entombing of the reactors at Fukushima? What would this lead to? How wide would the exclusion zone be?

(e.) What is happening to the enormous volumes of water that are being pumped into the reactors and spent fuel pools? Where does all this water go?  
   
The above are all of the questions we had time to answer today, but we will answer some more questions tomorrow. Please continue to send questions if you have them.

3. We address a concern from a listener: "Why do we sound so 'trusting' of TEPCO and the Japanese government regarding the nuclear disaster?"

To paraphrase our answer in the interview, just because we do not raise our voices and scream in anger does not mean that we are not deeply concerned and critical. We try to be calm and rational in these interviews as we believe this is the best way to provide clear information. We also want to avoid-- to the best of our ability-- conspiracy theories, misinformation, and unnecessary panic, which will only make the disaster worse. If you feel that we are too trusting, please listen again. From early on in the interviews we have actually been critical of TEPCO and the Japanese government in how they have handled (and not handled) the nuclear disaster.

In recent interviews, we have becoming increasingly critical of TEPCO and the Japanese government. For instance, we have been critical about the lack of clear, cohesive information from both TEPCO and the Japanese government, the unwillingness of TEPCO to communicate with and ask for help from the Japanese government and international community when they need it (for instance, asking for more radiation badges and suits), possible mistakes made by TEPCO (not checking the spent fuel pool water levels), and many other items. In the past two interviews, my dad has condemned both TEPCO and the Japanese government for not following the advice of the US Nuclear Regulatory Committee (NRC) to retrofit the Mark I reactors with important safety modifications that likely would have prevented the steam explosions that severely damaged reactor buildings 1, 2, and 3.

In the interview today, my dad said that in his opinion we should seriously question if TEPCO should be allowed to run nuclear power plants. I'm not sure how much more critical he can be than that. I hope this clears up any confusion over how "trusting" we are of TEPCO and the Japanese government.

Hope to have an audio link soon. Here is the interview on vimeo:

Please see the announcement page for more information about these interviews:


If you have time and interest, please transcribe this interview. Our next interview will be on Monday, April 4th. Thanks to Dave, a transcript is now available after the jump.
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Friday, April 1, 2011

A Quick Note: Interview Postponed by Nor'easter

Here in New England, the weather is often unpredictable. Seasoned New Englanders often say to each other and to befuddled visitors or newcomers, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." Today, there is a late season nor'easter sweeping through New England like an April Fool's prank. There is rain and snow and slush everywhere.

Unfortunately, the weather has upset our work and travel schedules, so my father and I are unable to carry out our scheduled interview update about Fukushima today. Thus, we are postponing to Sunday, April 3rd. We plan to record the interview in the early afternoon.

We apologize for such a big gap in interviews. To tide you over until Sunday, we recommend taking a look at the information on the IAEA and NEI websites:



I've already received a few questions for Sunday, but please continue to send questions and comments to georneysblog@gmail.com. You can also follow me on twitter @GeoEvelyn.
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