1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you welcome to Stuff you Should Know? 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: From House Stuff Works dot com? Hey, and welcome to 4 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,440 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Josh Clark with me as always as 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: Charles W. Chuck Bryant, And that makes this Stuff you 6 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: Should Know kind of a special edition. Really, we don't 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: usually like hop on news stories. Yeah, you can't ignore 8 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: this up and I guess probably releasing something like a 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: full week after it happens is not hopping on. But 10 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 1: still now it's people have concerns and there's a lot 11 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: of information flying around. Everyone's trying to explain this thing 12 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: and the simplest terms, and since that's what we do 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: for a living, we figured we should do it. Yes, 14 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: so that's what we're doing that. They were going to 15 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: talk about um nuclear meltdowns and how it pertains to 16 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: the crisis in Japan. Right, Yeah, and it's a lot 17 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: more basic and simple than I thought. I was intimidated 18 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: going into this, and then I was like, oh, well 19 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: that's not too hard to understand. Yeah, it is nuclear science, 20 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: but it's kind of approachable nuclear science degree. So Chuck, um, 21 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: let's talk about catastrophe modeling. It's a type of risk 22 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 1: modeling that insurance companies love. It's how they figure out 23 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: why your insurance should be less than say, somebody else 24 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: of the same age, weight, height, the kind of thing 25 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: who lives in California. Right, UM, my former self. Yeah. 26 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: So you can actually, um take a catastrophe model, right 27 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: and plug in every variable you can think of, and 28 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: what you'll spit out is UM basically a a curve, 29 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: a graph of probability of an accident happening, and then say, 30 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: like the the level of damage that will happen. Okay, 31 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: So if you do this over like say a ten 32 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: thousand year catalog, you can figure out how off and say, uh, 33 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: nine point oh earthquake is going to hit Japan, And 34 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: you can figure that out by choosing a probability. Let's 35 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: say there's four percent probability of a nine point oh happening. 36 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: You can find that that pops up maybe forty times 37 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: over a ten thousand year scale. And what you have 38 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: then is that that's a one and two D and 39 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: fifty year probability. That's where they get the predictor yeah, exactly, 40 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,799 Speaker 1: and that's why UM power plants are that's how they're 41 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: built to withstand something like a once in a two 42 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: fifty year quake, saying it could happen in this area, 43 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: so we need to account for it. Right. And it's 44 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: based on the dynamics, the geophysical dynamics of an earthquake 45 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: of a nine point oh magnitude right. Because you've got 46 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: all that plugged in the model, you figure out how much, 47 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: how bad it's going to be, how often it's gonna happen, 48 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: and then you build accordingly. And these the plants on 49 00:02:53,840 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: the north coast of Japan, the TEPCO's Tokyo Electric Power Company, right, uh, 50 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: their Daichi and Daini plants UM number one and number 51 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: two plants in Fukushima UM were built to a stand 52 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: a two fifty year quake, which is exactly what they 53 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: got on March eleven. Yeah, they were, and they withstood it. 54 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: They did. Everything went fine, they shut down the reactors, 55 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: which is what's supposed to happen to its sweet But 56 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 1: the problem was it was stood an earthquake, a huge earthquake, 57 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: possibly the most massive earthquake that's ever hit Japan, but 58 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: it didn't withstand the tsunami. It's this model, whatever the 59 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: model it was built for did not predict the tsunami. 60 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: It didn't take it into account, and that's why we 61 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: have this this crisis right now. Right so we should 62 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: probably also mention that the the focus right now is 63 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: on um, you know, this nuclear potential nuclear meltdown. But um, 64 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: I mean the tsunami is up to like I think 65 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand dead and missing now just from the tsunami alone. 66 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: Are they calculating the tsunami different from the earthquake as 67 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: far as that goes, I would not me. Okay, so 68 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: possibly because I read seven thousand, but that might just 69 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: be maybe there's different numbers that could know. I think 70 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: that's just dead. This is like dead and missing. So yeah, 71 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: but now you've gotten an earthquake that just knocked down 72 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: a bunch of stuff, you have a tsunami that took 73 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: out entire towns, and then you have this this nuclear 74 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,280 Speaker 1: crisis that's unfolding, and um, you know this is going 75 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: to release in a few days. So we'll have to 76 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: make do with the information that we have, right Yeah, 77 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: unless something like really really big happens between today, which 78 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: is Thursday and Tuesday, we might have to come back 79 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: in and like doctor it up a bit, right, This 80 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: is what we're going with for now. Yes, So Chuck, 81 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: let's talk a little bit about how, uh if you 82 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: walk around a nuclear power plant, where are you going 83 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,599 Speaker 1: to find what's going on there? Well, it's pretty easy, actually, Um. 84 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: And this is something that I didn't know because I 85 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: didn't know a whole lot about nuclear power at all 86 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: until this happened. And basically, what a nuclear power plant 87 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: does is it creates one of the oldest model oles 88 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: for creating energy, which is steam powered UH turbines. And 89 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: how they do that they basically use nuclear fuel, which 90 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: these days is enriched uranium. The uranium atom split creates 91 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: a lot of heat. UH neutrons flying around also creates 92 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,559 Speaker 1: is created by that process, and this heat boils water 93 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: in the case of these UH reactors, these are water 94 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: boiling reactors. And we'll talk about more the mark one 95 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: here in a minute, and it produces basically boils's water, 96 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: produces steam. That steam drives a turbine generates power about 97 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: a gigawatt of electricity at full power, which is a lot, right, 98 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: and um, that is a tremendous amount. And that full power, UM, 99 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: the heat that's being put out um Marshall who wrote 100 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,279 Speaker 1: a really cool he's the founder of the site. Yes, 101 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: yes he does. He wrote a very um incredible article 102 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 1: in record time called how Japan's Nuclear Crisis works. But um, 103 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: he said that this puts out the heat. Um, that's 104 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: akin to about a billion watt bulb. That's that full power. 105 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: The thing is, obviously you don't always need your nuclear 106 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: reactors to be running at full power. So UM, what 107 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: you do is you modulate how much heat is being 108 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: put out by um using what are called control rods. Yeah, 109 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 1: sort of like the throttle on your gas right, but 110 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: instead of Yeah, but the the control rod is basically 111 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 1: something like, UM, maybe a boron enriched length of metal 112 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: that is inserted into the fuel rod core, right, And 113 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 1: if you pull it out a little bit, then it 114 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: heats up. If you push it in a little bit 115 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: that it heats down. So and and by heat, I 116 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: guess I could say it powers up and it powers down, right, Yeah, 117 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: because it's attracting the neutrons. Then the neutrons are what 118 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: basically make the splitting of the atom happen. And that's 119 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,720 Speaker 1: the problem there is it's self sustaining. So if you 120 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: didn't have these control rods, it becomes you know, it's 121 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: own living reaction. Well, it'll just it would just keep going, right, 122 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: it will keep going as long as you can can, 123 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: as long as you could keep it cool and just 124 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: be running at max power all the time. Right now, 125 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: when an earthquake hits, one of the fail safe designed 126 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: into any nuclear reactor is that the control rods are 127 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: going to get jammed in all the way, which is 128 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: called scramming. And when the um, when the reactor is scrammed, 129 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: all the control roads are shut down, all the sheil 130 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: roads are shut down because there's these control rods just 131 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: accepting all the neutrons. And like you said, the neutrons 132 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: are the active ingredient in nuclear fission because they're just 133 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: making all the atoms in the surrounding area unstable. Right. 134 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: But it's important to point out that even when they're 135 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 1: fully inserted and it's shut down, it's still creating keat 136 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: And here's the problem. Small amount of heat, but it's 137 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: enough heat if left unchecked, to potentially cause what's called 138 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: the meltdown. Right. So this heat that you're talking about 139 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: chuck is called decay heat. And I've read places where 140 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: it lasts a week. I've read that it lasts for 141 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: a year, and I think it acts really last for 142 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: a year. It takes a year for a fuel rod 143 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: to actually shut down, to to go to shut down state, 144 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: where like it doesn't need to be cooled any longer 145 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: with water, right, So when you scram something like they 146 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: did on March eleven, it's not just gonna cool down 147 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: right away. And that's the problem that we're dealing with 148 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: right now is this decay heat, which, like you said, 149 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: is still it's it's a ridiculous amount of heat, and 150 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: it requires tons of cooling, right, which normally should be 151 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: fine because the Dachi plant with reactors went through four 152 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: I have cooling systems and lots of them, right. Yeah, 153 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: it's a closed loop. So what happens is the water 154 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: boils and creates a lot of pressure. The pressure is 155 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: released the esteem uh and the steam actually gets cooled, 156 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: condensed and reused like a closed loop air conditioning system, 157 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 1: not a whole lot different, and the water is recirculated. 158 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: That water is recirculated back through the system with these 159 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: electric pumps, and those electric pumps are the key to 160 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: keep in everything cool and the problem, uh, well, well 161 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: we'll get to the problem. Um, they have a lot 162 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: of fail safes in place because you know, they don't 163 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: just plug the pump into the wall and say all right, 164 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: we're good to go, because that would be bad if 165 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 1: the power went down. Uh, there are backup electric pumps. 166 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: There are backup Uh if if the power goes down, 167 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: you can actually um, because I believe it's using its 168 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: own nuclear power to generate to operate these pumps. This 169 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,560 Speaker 1: is an electricity generating nuclear power plants. It's running itself. 170 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:30,839 Speaker 1: But once the plant shuts down, which is what they did, 171 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: they say, okay, we can grab electricity from the grid, 172 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,599 Speaker 1: but the grid shut down. Yes, that just shut the 173 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,440 Speaker 1: grid down to pretty much right after the control rods 174 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: were scrammed into the into the reactors. So they have 175 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: another backup there, Like, all right, we got these diesel generators, 176 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: which are diesel generators are great, they do a great job. Uh. 177 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: Tsunami comes in water on top of electrical or I'm sorry, 178 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:57,680 Speaker 1: diesel generators makes them to not operate. Yeah, they were submerged. 179 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,719 Speaker 1: They weren't designed to operate and submerged. Now and then 180 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: they said, all right, we've got all these backups in place. 181 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: The final backup we have is a battery system. Battery 182 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 1: system kicked in, it worked great, but the problem is 183 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: it only works for a little bit of you know, 184 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: like how many hours. I don't know if it's said 185 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 1: a few several hours, because the idea is that the 186 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 1: battery system is in dire emergency until you get the 187 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: grid back going, which shouldn't take that long. Um. Now. Also, 188 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: transport transportation was knocked out. Supply routes are knocked out, 189 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: there's no power. They try to get more diesel generators there, 190 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: but they just couldn't get them in time. Right. Um, 191 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:37,079 Speaker 1: So we have a nuclear power plant without power to 192 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: run these cooling systems. And these are boiled water reactors, 193 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: which means that the water, um you know, like you said, 194 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: chuck it, it gets its energy or it creates electricity 195 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: by boiling water. Now, these fuel rods are so hot, 196 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: even with this decay heat that the moment water hits them, 197 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: even boiling water, the boiled water is keeping them cool. 198 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,200 Speaker 1: They're so hot they just have to remain underwater. Let's 199 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: just keep them underwater. That's the key. The problem is 200 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: is they create tons of steam, and that steam is 201 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,439 Speaker 1: what is what runs the turbine, and then after it 202 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: access the turbine, like you said, it's condensed and then 203 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: reused as coolant. Right, But if the those pumps aren't working, 204 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:21,320 Speaker 1: all it's doing is producing steam, boiling off water and 205 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:25,440 Speaker 1: basically getting rid of the only coolant source they have. Yeah, 206 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,120 Speaker 1: and if water gets hot enough, it actually something called 207 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: thermalisis takes place, and that's when it breaks down into 208 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: constituent hydrogen and oxygen atoms or in this case um 209 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: hydrogen gas, which is really really explosive. And that's that's 210 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: actually a pretty normal byproduct of even like the proper 211 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: functioning of a boil water reactor plan. So they have 212 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: procedures in place to vent steam normally, but they burn 213 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: the hydrogen, often a slow control burn when they're venting 214 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:01,920 Speaker 1: it to reduce radioactivity and to you know, keep explosions 215 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: from happening. Then you may be wondering why would they 216 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: design a system with that uses water to cool and 217 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: and nothing else. The point, the whole reason that somebody 218 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:19,040 Speaker 1: ever designed the Mark one or boil water reactor is 219 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: that it's actually has a failsafe built in the fact 220 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: that it uses water as a coolant and what's called 221 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: a neutron modulator which keeps that thing from going like 222 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: out of control past, you know, just to sustain max power. 223 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: Nuclear fission is whatever you're using as a new neutron 224 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: modulator or moderator. I'm sorry. So as long as the 225 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: neutron moderator there, you can have fission nuclear fission. But 226 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,839 Speaker 1: if the if you can't get the control rods in 227 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: in time and the coolant goes away, the the fuel 228 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 1: actually won't be able to continue in a fission state 229 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: because the neutron mod moderator is not there. So you 230 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: don't have the cooling, but at least you don't have 231 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: a meltdown um from nuclear fission, which is really horrible. Right, 232 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: So that's why they have this boiled water reactor. But 233 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,440 Speaker 1: the problem is this water served as a fail safe 234 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: and it's achilles heel and in this case, shosh the 235 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: hydrogen gas we were talking about, the normal reaction got 236 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:22,320 Speaker 1: worse because the water boil away. These fuel tubes were 237 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 1: now exposed to air. They got really really hot and 238 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:30,160 Speaker 1: started cracking. And the little uranium fuel pellets I think 239 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,319 Speaker 1: they're the size of a Tootsie roll, right, Uh, they 240 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: overheated and and cracked and allowed water to get in there, 241 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: and water is not supposed to be in there. And 242 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: that's where you had this massive hydrogen gas explosion. And 243 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,440 Speaker 1: I think was it one of them, two of them, 244 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: I think it was several different reactors had this explosion 245 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: within the reactor building itself. It wasn't like the whole 246 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: thing exploded, it was it was contained within the building, 247 00:13:55,679 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 1: they hope, they think, really exactly. So we're still getting 248 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: news at this point because they there's a small number 249 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: of people, you know, on the ground, and they're not 250 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: all like on the phone with Anderson Cooper, right so 251 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: the information on the inside isn't that readily available right now. 252 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 1: So there were there were several explosions, Chuck, I think 253 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: it was like reactors one and three had explosions from 254 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 1: this hydrogen gas. They were venting it, they didn't burn 255 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,000 Speaker 1: it off properly, and the hydrogen built up and up 256 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 1: and up and um. You remember, you know, you need 257 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 1: to keep these things wet. You have to keep them 258 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: underwater under any circumstances whatsoever. They have to be cool constantly. 259 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 1: They have to remain underwater. So without these backup generators, 260 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 1: without the battery power, generators without their normal electricity, without anything. 261 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: They finally decide we need to flood these things with seawater, 262 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: boron and enriched seawater. And it was a chemical reaction 263 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: between the sea water and the hydrogen that caused these explosions. Yeah, 264 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: which we should say this is very very very very important. 265 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:07,840 Speaker 1: That was a conventional chemical explosion, right. It was not 266 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: a nuclear bomb, right, it's not. It's not possible for 267 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: a nuclear reactor to blow up like in a nuclear explosion. 268 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: It's not possible. The danger, like with chernobyl and anything 269 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: is is leaking radiation. It's not like a Hiroshima type 270 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: of event, right, So that happens. Um To to create 271 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 1: a nuclear bomb, what you have to do is take 272 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 1: um radioactive material in a subcritical state, which is like 273 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: what you might have in your front pocket right now. Shucks, right, 274 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: it's just plain old lump of uranium. Who cares, right, 275 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 1: and you have to explode it so fast to create 276 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:50,239 Speaker 1: a chain reaction that uses up all of that subcritical 277 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 1: material that it skips over the critical stage and goes 278 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: right into supercritical. The precision that that requires makes it 279 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,160 Speaker 1: that there's probably like five people on the planet right now, 280 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: they know how to build a nuclear bomb like that. 281 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: You can't just do that with fuel. The big threat 282 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: is the melting of the fuel, right, right, And so 283 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: they flooded it with seawater, to which ruins the reactors forever, 284 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: by the way, we should mention, but that's a better scenario. 285 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 1: And apparently these are forty year old reactors that were 286 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 1: not on its last legs as far as they're about 287 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: to break, but they were near the end of their 288 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: operating lifespans. Do you want to hear something horrible? Reaction 289 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: Number one went online on March, so it should have gone. 290 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,960 Speaker 1: It should have been decommissioned on March eleven. Really there 291 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 1: was actually a date there should have been. But apparently 292 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: TEPCO applied for and received a tenure extension on its 293 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: operating licenses for those interesting Yeah, so what what what 294 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 1: we have some information here? What does this all mean 295 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: to the world at large? Well, here's the big problem. 296 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: Like we said that the fuel isn't going to explode, 297 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: but it's going to melt, right, And said Chuck that 298 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:04,399 Speaker 1: these little fuel pellets in the fuel rods are like 299 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,359 Speaker 1: the size of a tutsie roll in about the shape, right, 300 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 1: if it melts. If this when this stuff hits air, 301 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: it begins to melt, and if it melts, it will 302 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: no longer be able to be cooled because it's going 303 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: to be a big, flat, dense glob of nuclear fuel 304 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:25,120 Speaker 1: that's melting and collecting inside of this containment vessel. Right, 305 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: So the operative word is containment vessel. This extremely hot 306 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 1: nuclear fuel that's forming a pool can conceivably melt through 307 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:40,400 Speaker 1: the containment vessel. And once that happens, if it when 308 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,920 Speaker 1: it encounters the concrete barrier, this which is like the 309 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: fail safe of fail safe. This it's it should not 310 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: be able to melt through that, it's possible it could, 311 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:54,160 Speaker 1: and if it does, then you have you have nuclear 312 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:59,199 Speaker 1: fuel in the environment, and that's when it's it's beyond 313 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: catastrophe level. Yeah, And that's a containment vessel that's completely 314 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: functional and intact. And we don't know what kind of 315 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: damage these explosions of cause they might be compromised from 316 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: the inside to make containment even more difficult. Who knows 317 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: at this point. So the the explosions were kind of 318 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:20,400 Speaker 1: um jarring, you could say, right, the explosions that reactors 319 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: one in three. Yes, there is a fire at UM 320 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: reactor four UM. But apparently one of the big problems 321 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: is a bunch of spent fuel that's no longer being 322 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:35,680 Speaker 1: cooled at reactor too. And while when this fuel melts, 323 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: it can catch on fire. So vapor is bad enough, 324 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: but if it catches fire, smoke is what's really going 325 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:50,119 Speaker 1: to get you. It will create and carry further UM 326 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 1: radioactive particles that UM has a much longer half life 327 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: than the stuff that's going to come out in the vapor. Right, 328 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:02,760 Speaker 1: that's the threat. That's a big threat threat. Uh. So 329 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: we mentioned that it was the Mark one boiling water 330 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,120 Speaker 1: reactor that that was over there. Um G E made 331 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: these General Electric in the nineteen sixties. They went online 332 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: and I think seventy one you said yes, which is 333 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,879 Speaker 1: a long time ago. Uh. The United States has twenty 334 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: three of these reactors right now at sixteen locations, including 335 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:28,399 Speaker 1: UH Oyster Creek in New Jersey, Dresden near Chicago, Monicello 336 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:32,480 Speaker 1: near Minneapolis. No reason to freak out right now, UH, 337 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: because well, here's the deal. These these Mark one boilers 338 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,760 Speaker 1: are UH are under scrutiny right now. The New York 339 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: Times ran a piece about these. Apparently in nineteen seventy two, 340 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: right after they built these things, that identified weaknesses and said, hey, 341 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: we should discontinue this because, uh, there's some safety risks. 342 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:57,199 Speaker 1: One of the safety risks was a smaller containment design, 343 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 1: which they said in nineteen seventy two might be more 344 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: susceptible to explosion and rupture from a build up of hydrogen. 345 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: So that it seems to be what happened here in Japan. Uh. 346 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 1: Obviously g is not on the hook or anything they 347 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: you know, once you take control of your nuclear power 348 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,159 Speaker 1: plant as a nation, it's yours, and it's not like 349 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,879 Speaker 1: you can call up GE and say, hey, Jerk's you 350 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,879 Speaker 1: know what about all this? So Japan was responsible for, 351 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: you know, caring upkeep of their own thing. Uh. And 352 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,360 Speaker 1: apparently the mark ones in the United States have undergone 353 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 1: a lot of modifications over the years, one of which 354 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: is a change to the Tourists, which is a water 355 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 1: filled vessel that encircles the primary containment vessels. So there's 356 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: all these things in place, uh in the seventies and 357 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,880 Speaker 1: eighties that the US put in place at our mark 358 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: ones that they say will prevent something like this. I 359 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,959 Speaker 1: don't know what was going on in Japan. If they 360 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,160 Speaker 1: were modified at all over the years, I'm sure that'll 361 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: all come out. Well. Apparently at some point starting to 362 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,960 Speaker 1: apparently some UM, at least one G engineer for the 363 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:06,360 Speaker 1: Mark one resigned UM because he thought the Mark one 364 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,160 Speaker 1: was so flawed and apparently G wasn't doing anything about it. 365 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 1: This was in the early seventies. But UM, some G 366 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:16,520 Speaker 1: whistle blowers UM blue Well blew the whistle on the 367 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: Fukushima plant UM because apparently they falsified records before UM 368 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: they they used dishonest practices in UM monitoring their own 369 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,400 Speaker 1: radioactive output, and there was a lack of safety culture 370 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,360 Speaker 1: basically by by the company's own admission. This is interesting 371 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,399 Speaker 1: to see what Ramifications is going to have a nuclear 372 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: power because there was a pretty good track record for 373 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: a couple of decades and a lot of people it's 374 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: starting to come around again. Well yeah, and saying this 375 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: is actually a green uh fuel producing technology because it 376 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: doesn't produce carbon and we got a good track record 377 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:55,959 Speaker 1: and it's pretty safe now and these things are like 378 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 1: super safe. They can withstand all these different things. What 379 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,879 Speaker 1: they couldn't withstand was a combination in Japan's case of 380 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,399 Speaker 1: these things like earthquakes and tsunamis Well, Chuck, it had 381 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,480 Speaker 1: a good twenty year run where it was starting to 382 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:15,120 Speaker 1: like gain tracks again. Nuclear power was um because it 383 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: was trying to emerge from the shadow of Three Mile Island. Right, 384 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:22,400 Speaker 1: the the partial fuel melt which is the correct term 385 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,440 Speaker 1: meltdown is not actually used in the industry, we should say, yeah, 386 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: but partial fuel melt in in Pennsylvania, that's right. And 387 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: that was, like you said, Three Mile Island, which is 388 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:37,120 Speaker 1: categorized as a level five disaster, which had had local consequences. 389 00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:39,919 Speaker 1: It was like the fuel melted and pulled, but it 390 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: didn't um, It didn't escape the containment vessel, but some 391 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: radio active material was released into the surrounding area. But 392 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: it scared the tar out of everybody. Well, China syndrome 393 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: didn't help much. Yeah, that that's true too. Um. And 394 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 1: so this uh disaster in Japan right now is categorized. 395 00:22:57,320 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: I've seen it as a six, I've seen it as 396 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,840 Speaker 1: a five, ending on who you ask, but either way 397 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: it's it's not a good situation obviously. So um, what 398 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:07,680 Speaker 1: we do know is that as it stands right now, 399 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,159 Speaker 1: at least, it's not a Chernobyl and Chernobyl was a 400 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: level seven, which is as bad as it can get. 401 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,320 Speaker 1: The in Chernobyl was a different scenario as well, definitely, 402 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: so um, there were a lot of differences. Remember we 403 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,919 Speaker 1: talked about water being a neutron modulator. Well, Chernobyl's design 404 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: used water as a coolant but had graphics graphite as 405 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: a neutron modulator um. When their system failed, the graphite 406 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:34,359 Speaker 1: caught fire and spewed radioactive smoke, which you'll remember is 407 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:37,160 Speaker 1: the worst stuff to have into the atmosphere for ten 408 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,000 Speaker 1: days before they got ahold of it. Yeah, and they 409 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,200 Speaker 1: also tried to keep it quiet, which isn't a wise 410 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: move when you're talking nuclear meltdown. And by all indications, 411 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: Japan has been very forthcoming. Uh here, they're trying to 412 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: get good information out. Really, they kept this They kept 413 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:58,000 Speaker 1: the fire at Um reactor for Um quiet for for 414 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,439 Speaker 1: enough hours that it ruined credibility. Basically, Yeah, so no 415 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: one's quite sure. Plus Japan's like, we just need a 416 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:08,480 Speaker 1: twelve mile radius between twelve twelve miles, get out of 417 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 1: their twelve and nineteen miles, steal up your home. And 418 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,120 Speaker 1: the US is like, we say fifty miles and any 419 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,520 Speaker 1: American that shows up at Narita Airport gets a free 420 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,840 Speaker 1: flight out of here. Yeah, so the Japanese are probably saying, 421 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 1: I've listened to the guys in America. No they're not 422 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 1: broadcasting it. Well, no, Americans is getting broadcast over there. Well, 423 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,639 Speaker 1: the citizens if they knew this, right, what about Facebook? 424 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,680 Speaker 1: And so I'm sure it's getting out like that. But apparently, 425 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 1: like the Japanese media is they they're known to not 426 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,400 Speaker 1: really criticize the government. It's just not their culture. Yeah. 427 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 1: I got a really good friend in Tokyo and he's 428 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: uh gone to Osaka right now with his family, two 429 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: small kids. He's not trying to be panicky, but he's 430 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: also got two small kids and he's just kind of 431 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 1: playing at safe right now. So we should talk about radiation. 432 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: I guess it's actually small kids that are at the 433 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 1: biggest risk about this um with radio How do you 434 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:01,639 Speaker 1: measure radiation, Chuck? You measure Josh with a unit called 435 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:06,160 Speaker 1: a millisievert, and it measures the absorption into the human 436 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,880 Speaker 1: body specifically, not like how much is in the air, 437 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: This is how much you're absorbing. How much is dangerous 438 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: to you? So you can measure it in millisievert or 439 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:17,680 Speaker 1: mic receiver. But the one that's like when you get 440 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,800 Speaker 1: to one severt, which would be a thousand millisieverts or 441 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:27,439 Speaker 1: a million microceiverts. Um, that's when you are in big trouble. 442 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 1: One thousand mic receiverts and a millisievert and then how 443 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: many millisieverts and a sivert a thousand thousand? Yeah, okay, 444 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:38,679 Speaker 1: so one sivert I think gives you a ten percent 445 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,440 Speaker 1: chance of dying in thirty days. And it's that's just bad. 446 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: That's ridiculous exposure. I don't think anybody's recorded any levels 447 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:50,240 Speaker 1: like that, right, Yeah, but let's put this into perspective. Um. 448 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:53,720 Speaker 1: Right now, they're saying in you're you're probably hearing on 449 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 1: the news, like a hundred and sixty seven times the 450 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: average annual dose that human gets because we get radiation. 451 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,199 Speaker 1: I think Americans get six point two millissy verts a 452 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:10,720 Speaker 1: year through uh, medical diagnostic procedures, dental X rays, flights, flying, smoking, 453 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,920 Speaker 1: going through those full body scanners, smoking one and a 454 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: half packs of cigarettes today, thirteen millisy verts per year. 455 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: I am radioactive. Yeah, well you're you're getting it out 456 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:25,520 Speaker 1: of your system. But yes, I am, But I still 457 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: probably AM because radioactivity is cumulative, which is why they 458 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: break it up into um millisy verts per hour or 459 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,360 Speaker 1: melissy roots per year because after a little bit of time, 460 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: your body can process this stuff, or the half life 461 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: of it is spent and it's not deadly any longer. Right. 462 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 1: But the big problem is when it is still um 463 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:51,880 Speaker 1: in full bore, a radioactive material, and it's absorbed through 464 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,400 Speaker 1: your skin. You can breathe it in, you can get 465 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,120 Speaker 1: it in through your tongue, your ears, your eyes, your hair, 466 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: everywhere you can you can absorb this radioact the material UM. 467 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: And apparently one of the biggest threats or the biggest 468 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:08,640 Speaker 1: known threat, is UM. Like I said earlier, I died 469 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: one right, io dine right, iodine one thirty one. So 470 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:18,120 Speaker 1: that's important because iodied it's actually counteracts the effects of radiation. 471 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,199 Speaker 1: And people are snapping this up. Apparently drug store dot 472 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: com is sold out of iodide right now, right, so 473 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: fake iodide is even being sold. There's warnings now about 474 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,800 Speaker 1: buying fake iodie, I know. And people are eating iodide 475 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: salt and the some I think, like the Salt Council 476 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:34,720 Speaker 1: came out and said that's not going to do anything 477 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:38,680 Speaker 1: for you. The reason, um, people are eating iodied and 478 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:44,119 Speaker 1: buying iodide salt tablets, which they should frankly be selling 479 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,760 Speaker 1: or sending them, not selling them, sending them to Japan. 480 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 1: You don't need them here in the US. They actually 481 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:52,959 Speaker 1: do need them in Japan. UM, with iodine one one, 482 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,320 Speaker 1: it's a it's a radioactive byproduct of nuclear fission, right, 483 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 1: or uranium specifically, And when you absorb that, your thyroid 484 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,879 Speaker 1: gets this big fat, heavy dose of it. And the 485 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 1: thyroid is responsible for some very fast dividing cells. So 486 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 1: once a cell is compromised in your thyroid, that radioactivity 487 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: is going to spread like gangbusters through your body, especially 488 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,159 Speaker 1: if you're a kid, because you have faster than normal 489 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:24,879 Speaker 1: dividing cells anyway. Right, So that's why thyroid cancer tends 490 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:29,160 Speaker 1: to go up in cases of radioactive exposure. UM, if 491 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:33,200 Speaker 1: you take iodide, your thyroid actually is going to get 492 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 1: as much iodide as it can, but it has a 493 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 1: saturation level. So if you if you expose it to 494 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:46,280 Speaker 1: iodide before you're exposed radioactive iodine, your thyroid is gonna 495 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: be full up and be like sorry, no more room 496 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: for iodine here radioactive or otherwise, and even better, iodine 497 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: one one has a half life of eight days, So 498 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: all you have to do is basically make sure your 499 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,240 Speaker 1: thyroids full of io died for eight days in your set. 500 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 1: And uh, if you're worried here in the US. UM, 501 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,080 Speaker 1: there's been stuff on the news about the radioactive plume 502 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,719 Speaker 1: crossing the ocean. Apparently the nuclear submarine the Ronald Reagan 503 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: cruise right on through it the other day and the 504 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: material was removed with soap and water and it's contamination free. 505 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: And they said, basically, the steam that's coming across the 506 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:28,960 Speaker 1: ocean is less dangerous than living in Denver, Colorado for 507 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 1: a year, because when you live at high altitudes, you 508 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 1: have less atmosphere to block radiation. And just living in Denver, 509 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: Colorado means you have more radiation than the average American, right, 510 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 1: plus still a very small amount. So I'm not saying 511 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,400 Speaker 1: people in Denver should be like, oh, I need to move, Yeah, 512 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: right exactly. They're also, um, it's not factoring in crime. 513 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: Even you get hit by a bus, you can get 514 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 1: shot in Denver. Or if you're a smoker, if you 515 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:56,200 Speaker 1: go to the Dennists and get your head X rate, 516 00:29:56,280 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 1: it's like you get radioactive uh, radioactive as a human being, 517 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:03,880 Speaker 1: and a little more so as an American. I think that, Yeah, 518 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,000 Speaker 1: I think we're I think the media is fanning the 519 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: flames of us losing our perspective as far as radiation 520 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 1: hysteria goes absolutely, Um, what else is there? Chuckers, Well, 521 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 1: this was just off the news wire about twenty minutes ago. 522 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:22,680 Speaker 1: They said that they have picked up some small amounts 523 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: of radioactive material in Sacramento. But it was minuscule, is 524 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: what they're saying, not harmful to human health, and so 525 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 1: people on the West Coast don't need to be freaking 526 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 1: out at this point from what we can tell. So 527 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: people in Japan should be worried, but they're even saying 528 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:42,440 Speaker 1: in Japan, like, you know, let's see what we can 529 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 1: do here. You don't need to be leaving leaving the country. 530 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 1: On maths, if you UM hear a report that there 531 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: is radiation coming our way, ask what's the level. If 532 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:57,120 Speaker 1: it's in micro siverts, I would advise you not to worry. 533 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,480 Speaker 1: If it's in millisy verts, start to wonder exactly how 534 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 1: many mility words. If it's um a hundred or less, 535 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:09,560 Speaker 1: then you are within e p A standards. For radiation exposure, 536 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: but you should probably consider maybe getting out of town 537 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:15,760 Speaker 1: for a little while. Um. But I think maybe keeping 538 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: a calm head and not buying up all the iodide 539 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:20,479 Speaker 1: tablets in the world is probably a good idea at 540 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: this point. Yeah. I got one more little factoid. This 541 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:27,600 Speaker 1: interesting for all the news agencies that are fanning the flames. 542 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:31,680 Speaker 1: Apparently Grand Central Station, New York City, the granite there 543 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,920 Speaker 1: and the uranium lay stone used at the US Capitol 544 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 1: Building supposedly give off enough radiation that they would not 545 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 1: pass a nuclear power plants licensing test, So they're pretty 546 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: strict with the licensing. People walking around Grand Central Station 547 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,120 Speaker 1: aren't in danger of dying from nuclear radiations, so that 548 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: just kind of puts it into perspective, or are they. 549 00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:59,040 Speaker 1: I wish we had the law and order do doom 550 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,560 Speaker 1: the play that was appropriate. Well, I guess it's about it. 551 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: Do you have anything else, Chuck? No? No, Okay, Hopefully 552 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:07,719 Speaker 1: you guys have a better understanding of what's going on there. 553 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,360 Speaker 1: I know I do. Um Our hearts and minds are 554 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 1: with everybody in Japan. Uh, keep keep thinking of them. 555 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 1: Maybe send some money, you send some I dye, send 556 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,920 Speaker 1: some lifestraws. Apparently lifestraws are being sent over there, uh 557 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:24,400 Speaker 1: in some of these rescue boxes. Yes, kind of cool. 558 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:28,680 Speaker 1: I saw it too. And there's always red cross, right yes, um, 559 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 1: And I guess since that's about it. Oh, if you 560 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:35,240 Speaker 1: want to learn more, type in Japan's nuclear crisis in 561 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:37,280 Speaker 1: the handy search bar at how stuff works dot com. 562 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,640 Speaker 1: It will bring up um A just a really great 563 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,600 Speaker 1: overview of what's going on over there. Um. And since 564 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:50,280 Speaker 1: I said handy search bar, it's time for a listener mail. Yeah, Josh, 565 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,320 Speaker 1: I thought it'd be appropriate today. You asked UM a 566 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,840 Speaker 1: few weeks ago about if you're involved in a program 567 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 1: it's helping the world out send it in. We got 568 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,600 Speaker 1: a few of these and we're reading them periodically, and 569 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 1: this like an appropriate podcast to do. So. So this 570 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,600 Speaker 1: is from Paul C in Canada and he's involved in 571 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:09,800 Speaker 1: a program in Northern Canada helping to start up a 572 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: project with a group of First Nation folks who are 573 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: being super proactive about reclaiming and protecting their culture and language. 574 00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:19,440 Speaker 1: The and it's spelled t l I C h Oh. 575 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 1: So I'm gonna go with licho or licho thank that 576 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 1: skin probably wrong are concerned that their traditional knowledge and 577 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:29,640 Speaker 1: ways of life are not being passed onto their young 578 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: people who are leaving to find jobs and go to college. 579 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: In response, they're creating a program to hire some of 580 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:37,880 Speaker 1: their dedicated young people for the summer to learn their 581 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:41,200 Speaker 1: traditional ways of life. We are looking for some funding 582 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 1: to get the program off the ground. We have applied 583 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:47,840 Speaker 1: to an organization called Small Change Fund. Uh struck me 584 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:51,120 Speaker 1: that you folks have a sizeable Canadian brigade in your stuff. 585 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 1: You should know army and I'm hoping that you can 586 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 1: help me spread the word about the Small Change Fund. 587 00:33:56,920 --> 00:33:59,080 Speaker 1: I'm of course biased towards my program, which is the 588 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:03,760 Speaker 1: Litchko Summer Culture Education Program. It sounds like a good program, 589 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,240 Speaker 1: but the small Change Fund website as a whole is 590 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,960 Speaker 1: really full of great worthwhile social and environmental programs, all 591 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:13,680 Speaker 1: looking for small amounts of startup funding less than five grand. 592 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:17,160 Speaker 1: If you could mention the small Change Fund website, that 593 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,920 Speaker 1: is small Change fund dot org to your Canadian fans 594 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 1: and everyone. Actually, I will gladly take you guys fishing 595 00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:27,759 Speaker 1: and give you all big high fives when you come 596 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:30,799 Speaker 1: up to yellow Knife in w T Do I think 597 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:34,240 Speaker 1: is Northwest Territory. I think it is. It's my guess, 598 00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:37,759 Speaker 1: and UH do a podcast on the northern lights or 599 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 1: work how Caribou migration works, or how to survive in 600 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,680 Speaker 1: negative forty degrees or some other such a northern thing. 601 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:47,440 Speaker 1: So that is from policy and that is the Small 602 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:50,440 Speaker 1: Change Fund dot org. And his program is the t 603 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:55,080 Speaker 1: l I c h O Summer Culture Education Program. So 604 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:57,760 Speaker 1: stop buying ms it. It sounds like a good program. 605 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:03,000 Speaker 1: Thank you, it's Paul. See thanks Paul. Good idea. UM, 606 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:06,560 Speaker 1: if you have a good idea or you have a 607 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:10,600 Speaker 1: good idea on how to help Japan, how about that? Yeah? Specifically, 608 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:13,800 Speaker 1: go on our Facebook, stuff Facebook dot com, slash stuff 609 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:16,279 Speaker 1: you should Know, tweet it to us um s y 610 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:20,080 Speaker 1: s K podcast, or send its plain old email to 611 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:28,480 Speaker 1: stuff podcast at how stuff works dot com. For more 612 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:30,839 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics. Is it how 613 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Want more how stuff works, check 614 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:36,719 Speaker 1: out our blogs on the house stuff works dot com 615 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: home page. Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand 616 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,200 Speaker 1: twelve camera. It's ready, are you