Japan Does Not Face Another Chernobyl

"With all the death, devastation and disease now threatening tens of thousands in Japan, it is trivializing and almost obscene to spend so much time worrying about damage to a nuclear reactor.

"The containment structures appear to be working, and the latest reactor designs aren't vulnerable to the coolant problem at issue here.

"The decay heat must be absorbed, and as a last-ditch effort the emergency core cooling system can be activated to flood the entire containment structure with water. This will do considerable damage to the reactor but will prevent any further steam releases. The Japanese have now reportedly done this using seawater in at least two of the troubled reactors. These reactors will never be restarted.

"If a meltdown does occur in Japan, it will be a disaster for the Tokyo Electric Power Company but not for the general public. Whatever steam releases occur will have a negligible impact. Researchers have spent 30 years trying to find health effects from the steam releases at Three Mile Island and have come up with nothing.

(excerpted from William Tucker, Japan Does Not Face Another Chernobyl, Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2011)

Please pray for the Japanese people who are suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami!