Pipe bomb locks down Ariz. nuclear plant?

Question

Do you think this is one good reason not to go nuclear as an alternative

Answer 1

No.  A pipe bomb can't penetrate the reactor hull. What it *can* do is mess up the steam system - but it can do *exactly* the same thing with a fossil fuel plant.

The only real difference between nukes and fossil fuel plants is that nukes contain their pollution, while every fossil fuel power plant kills multiple people every year with their pollution.

I live just east of Three Mile Island, by the way.

Answer 2

This is a curious one.  The pipe bomb wasn't hidden, but if we buy the guy's "I don't know how it got there" story that's pretty darn scary.  If that's true, then people with the kinds of clearance he has should be retrained to try to prevent problems of this kind.  

The nuclear option is one that needs to be pursued judiciously, and should never be embraced widely.  There are certain aspects of the program that should be revisited, such as the disposal issue, and security measures should be revisited every quarter.

A scary scenario, this time with a happy ending. Was the lockdown only applied to the one facility?  To me, a la 9-11, it should have been instituted across the board.

Answer 3

Right now, nuclear power is the only option for replacing fossil fuel based generation.   Sun, wind and conservation will help but will only provide a small percentage of the energy needs of an industrial society.

We need a MASSIVE amount of capacity.

Answer 4

I went to a nuclear plant.

They said you can fly a 747 airplane with full fuel into the reactor and nothing would happen. They also said that a fully loaded 18-wheeler would do no damage either.

Answer 5

First of all, the pipe bomb never made it into the plant. The security guard caught the bomb at the gate. That's his whole job.

Second, even if the guy had smuggled the bomb into the plant. You have to ask the question of how much damage could he have done? For sure he could have done some damage to certain subsystems and forced the plant to close for repairs (which is a major economic hassle). And sure there is a risk of some radioactive waste being released to the environment. But even in the worst case scenario nobody outside the plant is going to be in any significant danger. A pipe bomb going off in the middle of a reactor core is not going to cause a nuclear explosions!

Now consider that the security at nuclear power plants is extremely high. Let assume that someone was able to get a pipe bomb past the first gate. He would still have to carry it from his car into the facility, past another security check point, though some more hallways until he reaches some major plant component, though even more barricades if he wants to get near the reactor itself. And your telling me that nobody is going notice a guy carrying a pipe?

Answer 6

yes

Answer 7

I believe risks are everywhere.  And unfortunately we're going to need to derive more power somehow - the world doesn't run on good intentions.