> > ~20,000 people died due to the Earthquake

> That's a non-sequitur.

I think this is to establish that the large number of deaths from the disaster weren't due to the nuclear plant, which people seem to assume.

▲

cogman10 3 hours ago | parent [-]

People assume it, I did not. Nor did I claim it. It is a non-sequitur because we aren't talking about deaths from natural disasters.

▲

thrownthatway 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

We actually are.

There are plenty of smaller nuclear power reactor issues listen on Wikipedia, but the three big ones are Chernobyl, but that was an RMBK, which no one built except those crazy Russians, TMI which didn’t kill or injury anyone, and Fukushima Daiitchi which resulted in one death.

So we’re not really talking about deaths from nuclear power reactors, because there aren’t any, discounting Chernobyl because that won’t ever happen again.

So we must be talking about the deaths from that one natural disaster associated with the Fukushima Daiitchi meltdowns. Otherwise, I dint know what deaths you’re talking about.

More people injur themselves falling off ladders while trying to clean their solar panels than nuclear power ever will.

▲

cogman10 3 hours ago | parent [-]

You are, I'm not.

Good luck.

▲

thrownthatway an hour ago | parent [-]

Ok, which deaths from nuclear power.

State your case, enumerate them.

The idea that nuclear isn’t safe, and can’t be competitive in thr market is just nonsense.

Seventeen AP1000s are currently in operation or under construction. Four are in operation at two sites in China, two at Sanmen Nuclear Power Station and two at Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant. As of 2019, all four Chinese reactors were completed and connected to the grid, and as of 2026, eleven more are under construction.

It goes on…

Two are in operation at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Augusta, Georgia, in the United States, with Vogtle 3 having come online in July 2023, and Vogtle 4 in April 2024. Construction at Vogtle suffered numerous delays and cost overruns. Construction of two additional reactors at Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station near Columbia, South Carolina, led to Westinghouse's bankruptcy in 2017 and the cancellation of construction at that site. It was reported in January 2025 by The Wall Street Journal and The State that Santee Cooper, the sole owner of the stored parts and unfinished construction, is exploring construction and financing partners to finish construction these two reactors. The need for large amounts of electricity for data centers is said to be the driving factor for their renewed interest.

Twenty-four more AP1000s are currently being planned, with six in India, nine in Ukraine, three in Poland, two in Bulgaria, and four in the United States.

China is currently developing more advanced versions and owns their patent rights. The first AP1000 began operations in China at Sanmen, where Unit 1 became the first AP1000 to achieve criticality in June 2018, and was connected to the grid the next month. Further builds in China will be based on the modified CAP1000 and CAP1400 designs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP1000

The fact is, nuclear power is a 21st century success story.

	▲	cogman10 41 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> State your case, enumerate them. My case is that Gen II reactors have a design flaw which gives them a risk that should be eliminated. We should replace Gen II reactors with Gen III or later reactors as none of them suffer from the same problems as Gen II reactors do. The rest of your post is about AP1000, which is a Gen III+ reactor. A fine reactor to replace Gen II reactors with. I've made this point, to you, a couple of times so now I feel like you aren't actually reading my responses. I'm not interested in one sided conversations.

▲

mpweiher 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yes we actually are talking about deaths from natural disasters.

The Fukushima nuclear power plant was destroyed by the Tsunami. It didn't spontaneously combust.

A lot of other infrastructure that was impacted/destroyed by the Tsunami claimed lives. For example, a dam broke due to the Tsunami and that dam breach killed 4 people. Which coincidentally happens to be 4 more than were killed by the nuclear power plant when it was destroyed by the Tsunami.

▲

cogman10 3 hours ago | parent [-]

IDK why you'd think a thread about how we treat and handle nuclear reactors in an article about decommissioning nuclear reactors should suddenly be about people that die from natural disasters.

More people die from car accidents and heart attacks. More people get radiation poisoning from sun exposure. Also non-sequiturs because we are not talking about that here.

It is very tangentially related because the nuclear accident in the current thread was caused by an earthquake that also killed people. Not something that affects the discussion about how we should handle nuclear plants in the future because "This number is bigger" is a meaninglessly point to make.

▲

mpweiher 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> a thread about how we treat and handle nuclear reactors

This is actually an article about Belgium taking over nuclear plants for restart.

> should suddenly be about people that die from natural disasters

How did we get to natural disasters?

Well:

You brought up Fukushima, where a natural disaster destroyed a nuclear power station. You also incorrectly claimed that Japan had "decided" to "decomission" "these" reactors, rather than "rebuild" them.

Right, and ultimately Japan has decided the safest and I assume cheapest route with these reactors wasn't to rebuild but rather to decommission. These reactors can be made safer, but they all still have a foundational design flaw which means the ultimate goal should be replacing rather than continually spending money reinforcing.

I think most people who read this interpreted this as "these" meaning "Japan's reactor fleet". Because that's the only interpretation that makes at least a little sense (though it is wrong).

It certainly can't mean the reactors at Fukushima, because those have been destroyed, there never was any question of "rebuilding" them and so no "decision" not to do that. And not due to some unfixable "design flaw", but due to a Tsunami that another plant of the same design withstood without damage.

So: we got to natural disasters because you brought up natural disasters.

And yes, technical equipment and infrastructure gets destroyed in natural disasters. Like that dam in Japan that killed 4 people when it was destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and Tsunami. Like that nuclear power plant that killed 0 people when it was destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and Tsunami.

▲

thrownthatway an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

> More people get radiation poisoning from sun exposure.

What. The. Fuck. Are. You. On. About.

That has never happened.

Radiation poisoning. From sun exposure.

Are you ok? Would like some water? Do you want to sit down?

If you think that’s a thing, I don’t know what to say. I hope you don’t vote.

You should stop now before you embarrass yourself. Go away and do some reading. Come back when you’re read to play with the big kids.

We’re doomed!

	▲	cogman10 36 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		UV light is radiation from the sun. Sun burns are, in fact, a form of radiation poisoning. I'm sorry this isn't something you knew. Also, be aware you are violating HN posting guidelines. I'm not going to interact with you further because you are just flaming.