Are CANDU Reactors Safer?

[Sci_Guy]

I currently live in Ontario, Canada where we employ 16 nuclear reactors to produce just over half of our electrical needs. It's something I never really think about, until now. With the crisis in Japan it has become a nagging question, are our reactors safer than those in Japan? It turns out here in Ontario, we use one of the most expensive designs in the world, which just happens to be a Canadian design, called a CANDU reactor. Meanwhile in Japan, the reactor in question was one of the designs from the 60's called boiling water reactor. Here is a great link that directly compares them: http://www.enviralment.ca/2011/03/23/nuclear-power-facts-the-differences-between-ontario-and-japan/

 

My question to those who know more than I is, are CANDU reactors really that much safer? From what I read it seems they are so, but I am not a physicist. Also, what in your professional opinion is the safest nuclear design currently in place?

[swansont]

What are the odds of a tsunami in Ontario?

[insane_alien]

What are the odds of a tsunami in Ontario?

 

or magnitude 8.9 earthquakes?

[Doc. Josh]

You forgot to mention the chances of a meteor hitting it......

 

 

[Hal.]

What are the odds of a 4.649 magnitude earthquake and a chimney falling down ?

What are the odds of a 5.233 magnitude earthquake and a wall falling over ?

What are the odds of a 5.447 magnitude earthquake and a crack in a pipeline ?

What are the odds of a 6.227 magnitude earthquake and a cooling water supply being lost for 6 hours ?

What are the odds of it snowing for 6 months ?

 

 

 

What are the odds of Mickey Mouse , Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny being alive and well in Hollywood in 2100 AD ?

[J.C.MacSwell]

What are the odds of a tsunami in Ontario?

 

And of course you have to cut those odds in half because in the colder half of the year in Canada the Wave would freeze due to the extreme cold as it reached the shoreline.

 

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/frozen-tidal-wave-images.html

[theresa]

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says the plants are great: http://abetterenergyplan.ca/#/news/Nuclear_plants

[Phi for All]

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says the plants are great: http://abetterenergyplan.ca/#/news/Nuclear_plants

What are the odds that you and the OP are working for the same company that's trying to reassure Canadians that their reactors are safe? Sci_Guy used that same link in one of his other threads. And your IP address is one digit off of his.

 

This is the problem when you try to use smart people for deception. I doubt this thread went the way you wanted it to.

 

If you want to use a discussion forum, just stick around and discuss. No need for scammy sockpuppet responses that guarantee (lol) the outcome you want. It makes you look afraid of the truth. Believe me, you'll find a lot of support for nuclear energy among scientists, but not if you tamper with the data.

[CaptainPanic]

If you want to use a discussion forum, just stick around and discuss.

You're in a good mood today, or just a big fan of Canadian nuclear power. Anyone else would have been banned for this.

 

Anyway if the thread isn't being closed we might as well continue on topic:

If you're all wondering what could possibly go wrong in Canada, then just read this (wikipedia list of disasters in Canada). And here's a list specific for Ontario.

 

With tornados, fires and floods, it's still a good idea to severely overdimension the reactors, and to thoroughly test them. Most reactors will be built close to water (a river or a big lake) so the water is a factor to take into account.

[Realitycheck]

What's the likelihood that the oil companies could set off a fracking chain reaction and cause earthquakes all across Canada and cause part of Canada to slide off into the ocean? Get it, fracking chain reaction?

Edited October 4, 2011 by Realitycheck