Nuclear Power? Japan Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Both, by the way, on Faultlines

I am not a negative person but I am astounded at the news everyday. It seems like, with every passing day, something comes up in the news to add to an already full plate of bad news for Japan. Here's a couple of news stories that have slipped through the cracks that, if you pause to consider, could have serious ramifications.

SAM COOKE - TROUBLE BLUES

Japan's troubles seem like they keep growing. Our debt to GDP is 225%; the government keeps spending; cheap foreign labor have left the country; more holes keep being found at Fukushima along with proof that the cores of the plants melted down ("melted down" sounds really bad, but what exactly that means for you and me is unclear) and, in general, problems with the Fukushima nuclear reactors continues to mount. Throw on top of that an incompetent and bungling political system and we are most definitely headed for the hottest summer in Japan in years!


As I noted in a previous post, Nuclear Crisis in Japan? When the Cure is Worse Than the Disease:


The actual disaster is bad enough. But it is the after effects that are going to kill us. You've heard the expression that the "Cure is worse than the disease?" Well here is a case example happening in slow motion right in front of our faces.  It is the "ping-pong" effect. And the repercussions of this ping pong effect are spreading wider and wider and everyday brings a new facet to this problem as it continually evolves.  

That ping-pong effect could have very serious and long term effects and cause huge damage to the Japanese economy and, in turn, seriously hurt the world economy.


The ramifications to the Japanese economy of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, government bungling of the entire affair along with  throwing away $63 billion dollars in taxpayer monies to bailout TEPCO, a private firm (when Japan is already at debt of 225% of GDP) - along with all the new problems that are popping up everyday are what's really going to mess this country up.


When the world's number three economy gets a case of cancer this bad, the rest of the world is going to suffer too.


I think it is completely impossible, at this time, to predict how all these various events will affect the Japanese economy and, in turn, the world economy.


Since I make these claims that no one can predict what's going to happen, here's two articles that I have found that are of interest. 


In Japanese superquake moved ocean floor 79 feet sideways and 10 feet up - and new data shows region is under more strain the articles states: 

The ocean floor shifted sideways by 79 feet in the Japanese earthquake in March - much further than scientists originally predicted.

And researchers are warning that immense amounts of seismic stress remain stored in the area, putting it at risk of further devastating earthquakes.

The journal Science has published three new papers about the effects and causes of Japan's March 11 mega-quake, which paints a picture of an earthquake hot spot much more complex and potentially dangerous than scientists had ever anticipated.

(snip)

Under the seabed, the movement may have been even greater - perhaps 160 to 200 feet, by some estimates.

In another study sure to raise alarm in Japan, scientists from the California Institute of Technology have reconstructed how the Tohuku-Oki earthquake unfolded using GPS data recorded at more than 1,200 sites.

Tsunami about to hit Fukushima nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011

Their data showed that - contrary to previous opinion - the area had built up massive amounts of strain prior to the earthquake.

Earlier, there had been general agreement among researchers that the 'Miyagi segment' of the fault line was not under the stress of other segments along the Japan plate boundary, where large earthquakes occur at a regular basis. But Professor Mark Simons' team showed that this assumption was deeply flawed.

This raises questions about other sections of the fault line that had previously been considered low risk - including areas further south, closer to Tokyo. 

This 'Ibaraki segment' of the plate boundary has been thought to behave in similar fashion to that of the Miyagi segment, and Professor Simons says it may likewise hold large amounts of seismic stress.

I do think that, most times, the Daily Mail is a dodgy newspaper, but at least in this article they didn't make any silly statements like "There's is going to be another massive earthquake and we're all going to die." But this article is well written without the writer adding in their two-cents. To read this article has to cause one, who is living in Japan, or anywhere on the Pacific rim, to pause for a moment and consider.

Throw that one article with this blog post by Mish Shedlock about our energy problems not being just Japan's energy problems but a world-wide phenomenon, and you have another factor to consider deeply. Mish writes in Energy Shortages Spreading quoting the ASPO May 23 Energy Review:

Pakistan and China continue to top the list of countries with the most serious power shortages. Last week brought in reports of energy shortages developing or worsening in Egypt, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, India, Japan, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Libya, Mozambique, Nepal, Venezuela, Argentina, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Tanzania. Most of the reported shortages are of electric power caused by inadequate water levels at hydro dams or insufficient coal, but some of these shortages stem from unaffordable oil prices or the inability to import sufficient quantities of liquid fuels.

In most countries, electricity shortages quickly translate into increased demand for gasoline and diesel as organizations strive to keep important activities such as computers, elevators, hospitals, refrigeration and even factory production functioning with back-up generators.

More stress on fault lines? Sounds plausible. Especially considering this year's earlier massive earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand followed by the March 11 disaster in Japan (and frequent after shocks - just had one ten minutes ago). Throw on top of that the public growing disdain and distrust of nuclear power and the system of political power in Japan - along with the coming of a very hot summer and rising oil prices - and you have a situation that could turn into another energy crisis very quickly.

I've written it before and I will say it again; the very worse thing that could happen to Japan is the loss of cheap, clean energy. 

At outside festivals, hot summer is fine... Not in a hot office, though!

Sure, nuclear power has its warts...And I believe that we need to get rid of these 40-year-old power plants and build new safer units.... 

What are the practical alternatives? Wind power or solar power? No. Those are fine for running a refrigerator or heating your bathtub, but they could never power a steel factory or a subway line... There's no way they could power the grid for a city of over 35 homes like Tokyo.

Certainly, this is going to be a hot summer for Japan and the rest of the western world. 


Japan is most definitely in between a rock and a hard place. The fault line makes it even more precarious. 

Thanks to Lew Rockwell

Fighting Radioactivity? Pensioners to the Rescue!

Sometimes the Japanese just blow my mind. The entire fabric of society here and how people work as a team and believe in doing their utmost for the betterment of all is just amazing. The spirit of self-sacrifice that these wonderful people show to each other is awe inspiring.


Here is a jaw-dropping story about how 60 ~ 70+-year old senior citizens Japanese are banding together to work at the crippled nuclear power plants at Fukushima.


DW-World.de Deutsche Welle reports: 

High levels of radiation and uncertainty as to how long it might take to get the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi stabilized mean that the health of workers and people in the area is becoming an increasingly important concern.

The authorities are already finding it difficult to find enough people who are willing to go into the contaminated area and carry out necessary construction and decontamination work. However, a group of middle-aged volunteers have said they are willing to step in and put their lives at risk.

"My acquaintances and I talked very intensively about the accident and about how we could help contain the disaster," explained 72-year-old Yasuteru Yamada who came up with the idea.

"A functioning cooling system is indispensable," he pointed out. "But who is supposed to build it? Only people can do it. So why not us? Since we don’t have such a long future ahead?"

Pensioners at Fukushima

Yamada is a former engineer who studied metallurgy. He set up "Qualified Veterans for Fukushima Nuclear Plant No. 1" as a registered charity to convince the authorities of its seriousness.

He did not name the people he had already spoken to but said that the hope was that a plan would have been "developed by the end of May or at the latest in June."

Yamada also explained that the initiative was not a kamikaze action at all, but one that has been very well thought through. "Things have to be done in a team," he said. "Our project should be part of a long-term plan under state control. We have to examine people’s skills very carefully to find out what tasks are appropriate for them."

450 helping hands

Yamada and his friends have now contacted 2,500 people in Tokyo and the surroundings. Some 450 people have already offered their help and 90 of them - all in their 60s - have agreed to work in the plant itself. He says they are "worried about what’s coming. But should we not do anything just because we are worried?"

It is an amazing testament to the spirit and kinship of the Japanese that the elders would do this for the others and the youth of this country. While this is not the entire picture, it is a small slice showing why the Japanese spirit of sacrifice is considered a nobel and extremely honorable trait.


These old folks are heroes.


There's many more like them. Let us bow our heads and treat them with respect, not just in Fukushima, but when opening doors for them or giving up our train seats for these folks.


Read more: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6530334,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-asia-5133-rdf

Asahi Newspaper in Japan Confirms Core Meltdown May Have Occurred at Fukushima

Asahi Newspaper in Japan confirms core meltdown may have occurred at Fukushima reactors #2 & #3. 


The information shows that, at the time of the problem in March, when TEPCO was saying that there was no meltdown, as of information on May 16, it may have melted down. The Japanese is ambiguous. 


In keeping with responsible reporting on this accident, the facts, once verified must be reported. So, a meltdown may have occurred, but, according to data from TEPCO on the date of the incident and soon after the incident, there was no way to verify nor deny any meltdown. The final paragraph of the news story shows how this incident unfolded. 

Asahi Shinbun (3:01AM JST 5/17/2011):

東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の２、３号機でも炉心溶融が起こり、原子炉圧力容器の底に燃料が崩れ落ちるメルトダウンが起きていたとみられること が、１６日に東電が公表したデータで裏付けられた。３号機では溶けた核燃料がさらに下の格納容器内に落ちた恐れもある。専門家は事故直後から指摘してお り、細野豪志首相補佐官も１６日の会見で２、３号機でのメルトダウンの可能性を示唆した。

The data disclosed by TEPCO on May 16 shows that core meltdown may have occurred in the Reactors 2 and 3 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. In the Reactor 3, the melted fuel may have dropped to the Containment Vessel. Nuclear experts have pointed to the possibility [of meltdown in the Reactors 2 and 3] and Prime Minister's Assistant Goshi Hosono hinted at the possibility in the May 16 press conference.

　東電が４月１７日に示した工程表は、６～９カ月で原子炉を安定した状態で停止させるとした。１号機に続き２、３号機でもメルトダウンの可能性が出てきた ことにより、工程表の大幅な見直しは必至だ。炉心を冷やすシステムづくりに時間がかかり、高濃度の放射能汚染水の処理も膨大になるからだ。

According to TEPCO's "roadmap" on April 17, it was going to take between 6 to 9 months to shut down the reactors. The revision of the "roadmap" will be inevitable now that both Reactor 2 and Reactor 3 may have had a meltdown, as it will take more time to build a cooling system for the reactor core, and the massive amount of highly contaminated water will need to be processed.

　今回公表された地震直後のデータは原発内の中央制御室にあり、電源復旧に時間がかかったことや、記録紙に放射性物質が付着しているため整理に時間がか かっていた。公表されたのは、記録紙に打ち出されたグラフや当直長がつける運転日誌などで、大型ファイル４冊分にあたる。

The data disclosed on May 16 was the data right after the earthquake on March 11. It took TEPCO some time to retrieve the data from the central control room of the plant because of the long period of power outage and the radioactive materials on the recorded printout. The data in 4 large binders includes graphs on the printout and operation diaries kept for each shift.

　データによると、圧力容器内の圧力が、２号機は３月１５日午後６時４３分に、３号機は３月１６日午後１１時５０分に、それぞれ下がった。圧力容器の密閉性が損なわれ、圧力が抜けたとみられている。

According to the data, the pressure inside the Reactor 2 RPV (Reactor Pressure Vessel) dropped at 6:43PM on March 15 (JST), and the pressure inside Reactor 3 RPV dropped at 11:50PM on March 16. The integrity of the RPVs were compromised, it is thought, and the pressure went down.

　圧力容器の底には制御棒や計測機器を外から通すための数多くの貫通部がある。メルトダウンした核燃料が圧力容器の底にたまり、その熱の影響で機器が溶け るなどした結果とみられる。３号機内の汚染水からは、原子炉内の核燃料が損傷して出るテクネチウムなどの放射性物質も確認されていることから、溶けた燃料 がさらに圧力容器から格納容器内に落ちた可能性もある。

There are many channels that go through the bottom of the RPV [16 centimeters thick] to insert control rods and measurement devices. The melted fuel went down to the bottom of the RPV, and may have melted the devices at the bottom. The contaminated water from the Reactor 3 has been found to contain the radioactive materials like technetium that are produced when the nuclear fuel gets damaged, indicating that the melted fuel may have dropped from the RPV into the Containment Vessel.

　東電は会見で「プラント全体の事象を追いかけられておらず、評価できていない」と明確な判断を示さなかった。

In the press conference, TEPCO refrained from saying anything definite. "We haven't fully grasped the situation at the plant, and we haven't been able to evaluate it."

　一方、細野氏は会見で炉心に水が入らなかった時間について「１号機は１４時間９分、２号機は６時間２９分、３号機は６時間４３分と短くない」とし「炉心の完全な溶融（メルトダウン）の可能性をみておかないといけない」と話した。

PM Assistant Hosono said that there was no water being poured into the Reactor 1 for 14 hours and 9 minutes, Reactor 2 for 6 hours and 29 minutes, and Reactor 3 for 6 hours and 43 minutes. He said "We should be prepared for the possibility of the complete meltdown of the reactor core."

　また原子力安全委員会の班目（まだらめ）春樹委員長は１６日の定例会後の会見で「３月下旬に２号機で高濃度汚染水が発見された時点で、メルトダウンして いたという認識があり、助言した。１号機と３号機も、事故の経緯を考えると同じことが起こっているとの認識を持っていた」と語った。

Haruki Madarame, chief commissioner of the Nuclear Safety Agency spoke after the regular meeting of NSA on May 16. "When the highly contaminated water was found coming from the Reactor 2 in late March, we recognized that the reactor had had a meltdown, and advised [the government]. We also knew that the Reactor 1 and 3 had the same situation, looking at how the accident unfolded."

　東電によると、機器の記録から、運転中だった１～３号機は地震によっていずれも自動停止。配管の破断などの兆候はみられないとしている。非常用ディーゼ ル発電機も正常に起動していたという。東電はこれらの記録や地震計のデータをもとに、地震直後は機器が正常に作動し、津波到達までは大きな損傷はなかった とみている。（中村浩彦、佐々木英輔）

According to TEPCO, based on the records, the Reactors 1, 2 and 3 stopped automatically after the quake, and there was no sign of any physical damage to the reactor. Emergency diesel power generators were working. TEPCO concluded that all the equipments were working normally after the quake and there was no major damage to the plant until the tsunami hit.

Thanks to EX-SKF Blogspot!

Radioactive Contamination Found Outside of 50 Kilometer Exclusion Zone. Is This a Threat to Tokyo?

The news has it that radioactive fallout from the Fukushima crippled reactors have contaminated an area outside of the government sanctioned 50 kilometer exclusion zone.

This is very bad news for those poor folks living in the contaminated area and north of there. I hope that this situation can be resolved as soon as possible and that those poor folks - all of them - affected by this tragic incident can soon return to normal lives as soon as possible. 

Even with this information, as has been stated over and over on this very blog, this new information still does not constitute a threat to Tokyo. Why? As I have written, since the beginning of this mess, in Life in Tokyo Goes On:


"First the good news. For those of us living in Tokyo or to the south or west of the nuclear accident, we are in pretty good shape. Why? Think about it; All weather systems and storms come up from China or the southern island of Kyushu direction. They then hit western Japan, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto in the Kansai area, and then move on up into to Kanto region where Tokyo is. The storms always move this way. 

This means that the prevailing winds are always blowing from the south or the west. This is good news for us in Tokyo as the nuclear fallout will head north or out over the Pacific ocean.


The prevailing winds in Japan blow from south or west. They always have. Radioactive materials, since they are materials, and in many cases, "heavy," cannot blow upwind nor can they flow upstream.

Think about it, dust does not blow against the wind. Sludge does not flow upstream. It can't. It's not my wishes, it's simply the way nature works.... Physically impossible.

If this accident had happened at the power plants south of Tokyo, Hamaoka or Tokai, then we might have a major problem here in Tokyo... (I can say that, while very surprised that they agreed to it, I am happy that Hamaoka is being decommissioned!)

The Fukushima nuclear accident is most definitely a problem for those living near the disaster area - or north of it - but for those of us living 230 kilometers upwind from it, in Tokyo, it is merely an inconvenience (not to belittle a major problem).

The fact that the "new" area where the contamination has been found is downwind from the Fukushima nuclear power plants, but a quick glance at a relief map of Japan shows you a "valley" between mountains that is a perfect funnel for the wind (always has been) to blow through that area. That mountain range is called the Ou mountain range. 

It would have been very irresponsible for anyone (me) to point that out to people before the fact, I think. It would have been "よけな話" since I am neither a meteorologist, geologist, nor trained in any area of nuclear science. If I had pointed that out, it would have been fear mongering or sensationalism.

Here is a standard relief map of Japan. Notice the Ou mountain range with the highest peak being Mt. Zao (dark black circle) - red arrows point to the apex of the Ou mountain range. There are blue arrows that show the direction of prevailing winds. People who really stopped to think about it who lived in that area must have suspected the worst was to come. Poor folks.

I suspect that, now some people will put two and two together and seriously consider leaving with their children. I would think long and hard about it if I lived in the "line of fire" of the blue arrows. I think it would be prudent to do so.

Here is a map of the "newly" affected area:

Here is a map just released of the affected area outside of the exclusion zone. I have added a red arrow showing the direction of contamination outside the stated exclusion zone. It is downwind heading straight for Mt. Zao and the Ou mountain range. Of course, the contamination will turn, with the wind, when it comes against the Ou mountain range. Like I said, considering weather conditions (direction of prevailing winds) this should come as no surprise to anyone.

While this news about the contamination being blown outside of the exclusion zone is bad news for sure, it shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone. It certainly doesn't show any extra danger to Tokyo which is 230 kilometers to the south.

As the old saying goes, "You don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." 


To see the current level of radiation in Tokyo (and to see that it is 100's of times within the safe levels and to compare to before the nuclear incident), click here: If that link doesn't work, copy and paste this: 
http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/emergency/monitoring.tokyo-eiken.go.jp/monitoring/past_data.html

Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Couple that with the ongoing problems at Fukushima and we are looking into a future of disastrous consequences. 

Photoshop makes some great propaganda, but the truth is quite different. What is appalling is that some people see this stuff and believe it to be true!

The online technology and culture publication, Spiked, has a brilliant essay about Chernobyl on the 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.


Here are some selected parts:


Yesterday was the twenty-fourth anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. That incident has become one of the main obstacles to the expansion of nuclear power, with environmental groups like Greenpeace demanding that we ‘Remember Chernobyl’. Indeed, we should – but we should remember what actually happened, not the nightmarish spectre summoned up by so many greens.


Just before 1.24am, a series of explosions blew the huge metal and concrete safety lid off the reactor, exposing the core. Enormous quantities of radiation poured out. In the next few days, a number of the plant operators and firemen fought heroically to seal the reactor, and many of them died horribly from radiation sickness as a result. 

Radioactive material was scattered far and wide, most notably in the surrounding parts of Ukraine and Belarus, but thousands of miles away, too. In the UK, for example, many sheep are still tested (almost certainly pointlessly) to ensure that no dangerous radioactivity enters the food chain.

Chernobyl was by far the world’s worst nuclear accident. However, official studies suggest that the accident was not as apocalyptic as we have often been led to believe over the past 24 years. According to a report in 2005, produced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "4,000 people could eventually die of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant…" 

As of mid-2005, however, fewer than 50 deaths had been directly attributed to radiation from the disaster, almost all being highly exposed rescue workers, many who died within months of the accident but others who died as late as 2004.’

Others claim that the WHO-IAEA report is a gross underestimate. Not surprisingly, considering it is a stalwartly anti-nuclear campaign group, Greenpeace published a report in 2006 claiming that ‘the full consequences of the Chernobyl disaster could top a quarter of a million cancer cases and nearly 100,000 fatal cancers’, with tens of thousands of premature deaths from other causes. However, there is good reason to believe that the WHO-IAEA claims of 50 deaths so far is nearer the mark. Apart from the poor souls who fought to deal with the accident directly, the actual radiation dose received by the population in the countries around the plant was quite small. 

The picture of Chernobyl in many people’s minds is of a nuclear wasteland for miles around. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Injecting some balance into the discussion of the accident and death toll at Chernobyl is not to suggest that this incident was an irrelevance. It was a very serious accident. But the lesson to be learned is not that nuclear power is inherently dangerous. In fact, Chernobyl aside, nuclear power has an astonishingly good safety record. The only other nuclear incidents that any member of the general public can ever remember were an accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, USA in 1979 - which resulted in no deaths at the time and produced an average exposure to radiation for the local population equivalent to a single chest x-ray - and a fire at the Windscale nuclear plant (now called Sellafield) in northern England in 1957, which again passed without immediate casualties (though about 200 cases of cancer were estimated to have been caused as a result in subsequent years).

This all sounds very good and promising for the nuclear power industry. But what is even more shocking is that many leaders of the Green Parties - who were adamantly anti-nuclear - have come out as pro-nuclear one they bothered to research the facts. The article continues:

Ironically, many leading greens have recently come out in support of expanding nuclear power, including James Lovelock, Mark Lynas and former Greenpeace UK director, Stephen Tindale. Another veteran green, Stewart Brand, in his book Whole Earth Discipline, offers a mea culpa for opposing nuclear power for so long. ‘My opinion on nuclear has flipped from anti to pro. The question I ask myself now is, “What took me so long?” I could have looked into the realities of nuclear power many years earlier, if I weren’t so lazy.’

Finally, Spiked says it better than I ever could with their closing arguments:

Nuclear power is a safe, reliable and developing technology. We should be building new nuclear plants as soon as possible. And the fact that we have rejected nuclear for so long, and are still dithering about it today, has a lot to do with the myth of Chernobyl, its exploitation by anti-modern greens, and its impact on the increasingly risk-averse, investment-shirking governments that rule over us.

What people who want to stop nuclear energy fail to realize is that the economy is bad enough now as it is. The oil and coal industries have raped the environment and have caused untold misery in wars to control those resources. 

The way the current economy is - and will be for the foreseeable future - we cannot afford a world without cheap, clean nuclear power.  To think other wise is just plain foolish.

Can you imagine a near future of gasoline and oil prices hitting new world records - at prices three or four times higher than they are now - not to mention how skyrocketing oil prices will exponentially increase our grocery bills? What are our realistic options? 

Solar, wind and power from things like ethanol and bio-fuels that must be subsidized by you, the taxpayer, are generations away from being efficient and generating more energy per unit than they cost to produce.

The facts should be as plain as day to even the most vehement green. It has been to the leaders of the Green Parties:  T

he very worst thing that could happen to us, the little guy, (that's you and me) is for our gas and electricity costs to skyrocket in the middle of this recession. For the betterment of the environment and for our children's future and for our economic well-being, we need cheap, clean renewable energy.

All of our current alternative energy sources are dirty, destroy the environment and are not cost efficient. The only choice we have is nuclear power. We must continue to develop it and make it into the ultimate safe energy source. We have no other choice. 

Thanks to Michael Distacio of Rock Challenge Japan

Nuclear Engineer the Most Dangerous Job? Nope. Not Even Close

After the nuclear accident at Fukushima, people are thinking, "Surely, nuclear engineering is the most dangerous job in the world." Nope. Not even close.


Not to make light of a bad situation, but as I was inspired by the list of the Top 20 Most Dangerous Jobs in America (at the bottom of that article) where I found that working at a nuclear power plant wasn't one of the Top 20 dangerous jobs. In fact, according to Topix, being a nuclear power plant operator is so safe that it isn't even among the top 100 most dangerous jobs in America! See here. 

I was again reminded of the power of marketing in today's society and how hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year to get the public to believe as God's gospel truth the things they believe. 


That so many people believe that nuclear power is such a dangerous thing, when the oil industry annually accounts for thousands of deaths from cancer and airborne pollutants (not to mention millions killed in US instigated wars for control of that oil) and that, for every one person killed by nuclear power, 4,000 die from cancers and diseases as a direct result of burning coal and the coal industry just shows a testament to the power of the big money spent by the coal and big oil industry on marketing in an attempt to get you to believe what you do.


I guess they've done a pretty good job.

It strikes me as quite curious that, in some times, people are very anti-fossils fuels. Like when they complain about the environment, pollution or even (chuckle) Man Made Global Warming... Then at other times, like after the recent earthquake and tsunami, they completely drop that kind of thinking and go whole hog against nuclear power.

How, pray tell, do westerners think they are going to support their energy guzzling lifestyles? Well, recent events show that far too many people panic and don't think... So I guess that answers my question right there, doesn't it? 


People don't think.

Of course, people complain about these things while, at the same time, they have three TV's at home - of course one is a energy sucking giant screen; they have three stereos and central heating. They live the lifestyle of constantly leaving the lights on in the house in rooms they aren't using and live a life of general energy wastefulness. They also show their hypocrisy when they pollute the environment by throwing their trash away on the streets or when they go camping or on picnics. Nor do they properly separate their refuse to help recycle their garbage.

WHAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS JOB IN THE WORLD? READ ON!

As an aside, it has always struck me as odd how people can carry full cases of beer and food up a mountain to go camping or to a picnic, but seem incapable of carrying down consumed, much lighter, empty containers after the party is over.

But, I suppose, that's a discussion for another time.

Let me give you a caveat here as to why these things irritate me about some people. One usually doesn't like to toot one's horn (except I do every chance I get) and since no one does if for me, I have to do it myself: We have no TV at my home - haven't had one in nearly 10 years. No stereo. No central heating. Absolutely never leave the lights on in unattended rooms and are very energy conscious. We use power boxes and completely shut off the power in unused appliances so that even the built-in clocks are off when not in use... 


In fact, even though I don't believe that CO2 is a problem concerning global warming, we always close the toilet seat cover as closing the toilet seat shows good manners and proper upbringing and, from what I understand, closing the toilet seat cover, when not in use, cuts down about 45 kilograms of CO2 released into the atmosphere annually from one toilet.

Do I do these things, and teach my children to do the same, because I worry about the environment (and their manners)? Yes. It's partly that. I do have four children. I do worry that we need to keep the rivers and mountains and beaches clean. But I do these energy saving things mostly because I am an incredibly frugal person (a cheapskate) and do not believe in unnecessarily throwing money away supporting big oil and big power companies.


If I can save $10 a month on electricity and gas, that's $10 more dollars that I can invest in precious metals or save.

But, I am getting off the point of this post. The point is that working at a nuclear power plant is not even listed in the Top 20 Most Dangerous Jobs in America - it is not even in the top 100 - yet it is perceived (in a very comical way, too) as a very dangerous job.

This allows me to give you an undeniably good example of how TV has influenced the thinking of today's society immensely.

I am reminded of Homer Simpson working at Mr. Burns nuclear power plant in Springfield. 

Why am I reminded of Homer Simpson? Well, because, if America's most famous cartoon character - a guy who is loved, yet seen as a buffoon - a guy who represents Mr. Average America to people all over he world - works at a nuclear power plant, then I think that makes a strong statement. I think that is a statement  that just about anyone can agree with concerning the perceived safety of working at such a place.

Now, all I can say is that from watching the Simpson's and from examining popular trends and cultural ideas, in spite of the facts and historical record, I think anyone who watches TV would believe that nuclear power is a very dangerous thing; much more dangerous than the most dangerous jobs.

The fear of nuclear power is certainly much more glamorous and it sparks the imagination of Hollywood much more than the top 3 most dangerous jobs in the world put together: Being a fisherman, logger or farmer? Probably fun. But not as fun a Science Fiction, Spider-man, radioactive aliens from space and 1950's horror movies like "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

That Homer Simpson - who works at one of these places in a cartoon that ridicules nuclear power every episode - could win the award as the "Best American of All-Time," beating out such luminaries as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, is a testament to how people all around the world - if they thought about it rationally for a moment - would most probably agree with me.....


That Homer Simpson's way of thinking and fouled up logic is pretty indicative of the average American's way of thinking... Laugh all you want, but Homer Simpson is the average American guy.


The problem is not that Homer Simpson is a self-centered, foolish, illogical (but lovable) oaf. The problem is that there are 10 million American adult males just like him... (Too bad it seems that a huge percentage of us are not in the least lovable, excepting to our moms...)

Working at a nuclear power plant is probably not an ideal job, but it pays a hell-of-a-lot more and is much safer than many other jobs. According to PayScale, starting pay for nuclear engineers - including bonuses and profit-sharing - is between $53,104 ~ $127,398 per year. 


Not bad for a guy or girl straight out of college.


Even considering the current problems at Fukushima with current deaths still at zero (and hopefully to remain that way) compared to the 11 immediate deaths on the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and the annual U.S. Minerals Management Service report of 69 offshore deaths, 1,349 injuries, and 858 fires and explosions on offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico alone from 2001 to 2010. 

Whether you are Homer Simpson, or someone just like him, in today's America, a person could do much worse for a job than becoming a nuclear engineer. In spite of all its warts and negative publicity, the nuclear industry still compares quite favorable in safety and pay to any other form of energy.


And now, to finally answer the question as to what is the most dangerous job in the world? Even though it is not legal in many countries, the world's oldest profession is also its most dangerous. As All Most reports:

What do you think is the most dangerous job in the world? I bet it would surprise you that the most dangerous job in the world is not even legal in most U.S. states. The most dangerous job in the world is prostitution. I know what you are thinking, prostitution isn’t even a job. But the definition of a job is a regular activity performed in exchange for payment.

Prostitution is named the most dangerous job because of this stat; the murder rate for a prostitute is 204 to every 100,000!!!