Better late than never

[varelse]

-but seriously, what took so long?

U.S. nuclear power plants must upgrade ventilation systems at 31 reactors with designs similar to those that melted down two years ago in Japan, under a Nuclear Regulatory Commission order that stops short of requiring filtered vents, as some safety advocates and NRC's staff had urged.
The filters are required in Japan and much of Europe, but U.S. utilities say they are unnecessary and expensive.

U.S.: Nuke plants with Fukushima-like vents must upgrade - CBS News

 

[flacaltenn]

-but seriously, what took so long?

U.S. nuclear power plants must upgrade ventilation systems at 31 reactors with designs similar to those that melted down two years ago in Japan, under a Nuclear Regulatory Commission order that stops short of requiring filtered vents, as some safety advocates and NRC's staff had urged.
The filters are required in Japan and much of Europe, but U.S. utilities say they are unnecessary and expensive.

U.S.: Nuke plants with Fukushima-like vents must upgrade - CBS News

You might ask "what took so long" to REPLACE these 31 plants with newer, better designed plants using technology that isn't from the Stone Age. When these plants were built --- YOU couldn't afford a hand calculator..

Nobody would be questioning safety upgrades at plants that have been built in the last 20 years or so.. But now -- one has to question the economics of spending money on "upgrades" OR replacing them and expanding our energy capability in nuclear power.

 

[Foxfyre]

This is a subject that is WAY above my paygrade and in which I have very limited knowledge. But without an off-the-chart tsunami, would that Japanese plant have EVER been a problem? If not, is there any reason to require modifications in plants that, short of a Biblical proportion flood event, will never be in danger from a tsunami?

These are questions I wish reporters on this stuff would ask.

If there is no practical benefit to be obtained, to require expensive and unnecessary upgrades benefits hurts those, including consumers of energy, who have to pay the cost involved. And I honestly don't know.

The question is whether you can compare it to a ridiculous rule of requiring the guy on the hilltop that has NEVER flooded to buy flood insurance just because his lower elevation neighbors are required to have it.

 

[flacaltenn]

This is a subject that is WAY above my paygrade and in which I have very limited knowledge. But without an off-the-chart tsunami, would that Japanese plant have EVER been a problem? If not, is there any reason to require modifications in plants that, short of a Biblical proportion flood event, will never be in danger from a tsunami?

These are questions I wish reporters on this stuff would ask.

If there is no practical benefit to be obtained, to require expensive and unnecessary upgrades benefits hurts those, including consumers of energy, who have to pay the cost involved. And I honestly don't know.

The question is whether you can compare it to a ridiculous rule of requiring the guy on the hilltop that has NEVER flooded to buy flood insurance just because his lower elevation neighbors are required to have it.

Engineering USED to be about "worst case design" and guaranteeing performance. Not so much today because the consumer crush of consuming flaky and poor quality video and audio is a marker that today's engineering is about being "good enough". We may be fortunate that these older nuke plants were designed in the old regime --- because if they were part of the "microsoft good enough" era --- they wouldn't last 60 years without blowing up.

That said -- time is slipping away to replace those older plants. We shouldn't be imposing major upgrades on plants that antiquated. And now -- it's more about economics of how money should be spent to provide power for the NEXT 50 years.

How about a demonstration of MODERN nuclear design? Something that can be built, licensed and operating in 4 years or less? Test the heck out of it --- and make further approvals easier.. In some of the more modern designs, these safety upgrades aren't even neccessary.