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From: ken@argus.UUCP (Kenneth Ng)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.sci
Subject: Re: Containment domes & Grapite Reactors: re to Stein
Message-ID: <353@argus.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 15-Jul-86 22:30:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: argus.353
Posted: Tue Jul 15 22:30:50 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Jul-86 04:54:25 EDT
References: <628@bu-cs.UUCP> <1943@ihlpg.UUCP> <796@whuts.UUCP> <1557@ames.UUCP> <858@whuts.UUCP>
Organization: NJ Inst of Tech., Newark NJ
Lines: 46
Xref: watmath net.politics:17380 net.sci:1259

In article <858@whuts.UUCP>, orb@whuts.UUCP (SEVENER) writes:
> > 
> > Nuclear plants in the US of course do of course have containment domes.
> > .... 
> > It isn't hard to see that the old Russian graphite reactors like the
> > ones at Chernobyl are a disaster just waiting to happen.  
> > From what I can tell, the power density of the Soviet graphite reactors
> > is so high, that only continuos cooling prevents the temperature 
> > from rising to the ignition point of the graphite.  (Someone 
> > correct me if I am wrong here.)  There are many reasons that 
> > Russian reactors are now  PWR.  
> > 
> > Michael V. Stein
>  
> This is not true.  There are 8 nuclear plants operated by the Dept.
> of Energy in order to make nuclear materials for nuclear weapons which
> have no containment domes.  These plants also are graphite core
> reactors exactly like the one at Chernobyl.
>             tim sevener   whuxn!orb

To the best of my knowledge, Chernobyl is a commerical power reactor.
this is different than a plutonium production reactor in that in a
power reactor waste elements are allowed to accumulate for a far
longer time than a production or research reactor.  These wastes do
not bother the reaction until they become really significant, but they
do degrade the quality of the plutonium produced.  Significant waste
elements in the plutonium make it harder to use and handle in a bomb.
If any new plutonium production reactors were to be built, containment
buildings would probably be a wise precaution, of course.


-- 
Kenneth Ng:
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