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Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by bckr on Friday August 19, 2022 @01:52PM (#32524093)
Don't quote me on this, but I think you personally will absorb more radiation from eating bananas in your lifetime than you would from Zaporizhzhia even if it were blown to smithereens.

Risks from nuclear meltdowns are actually overinflated in the public mind. Do you know how many people died of radiation poisoning in the wake of Chernobyl? It's fewer than you think.

Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by verdverm on Friday August 19, 2022 @02:51PM (#32524734)
More people die each year from coal related air pollution than Chernobyl did in total, many more

iirc, direct deaths were less than 100 and long-term the debate ranges from 1-10k

Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by moistly on Friday August 19, 2022 @07:38PM (#32527422)
Likewise, a lot more nukes have been set off than most people realize.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-nuclear-weapons...

Over 2000 nukes have been exploded.

Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by Gwypaas on Saturday August 20, 2022 @10:45AM (#32532408)
That is a very cavalier way of looking at it. This is the radiation fallout map from Chernobyl. In all darker red areas you still have to radiation test wild game and people are advised to not each too much mushrooms.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tx9iqKuIdYU/VhP7XTxs4dI/AAAAAAAAp...

> Radioactive contamination of mushrooms and wild game

> - As a result of the Chernobyl reactor accident, certain species of mushrooms and wild game are still highly contaminated with caesium-137 in some areas of Germany.

https://www.bfs.de/EN/topics/ion/environment/foodstuffs/mush...

Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by bckr on Sunday August 21, 2022 @02:37PM (#32543108)
It's not all-or-nothing. We must be able to understand that nuclear disasters are bad while also not being overly freaked out by them.
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by cmurf on Friday August 19, 2022 @01:43PM (#32524013)
The world really isn't taking Russia-Ukraine seriously enough. But the risk of a Chernobyl level disaster is low, with a Fukushima level disaster as the worst case scenario and also low likelihood.
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by Sunspark on Friday August 19, 2022 @01:52PM (#32524095)
It's the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

The risk is high, if the plant loses the cooling system which requires power to run then this becomes a serious issue. The fuel will start heating up.

Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by tomjen3 on Saturday August 20, 2022 @10:28AM (#32532289)
It is not the broken reactor design of chernobil. It will not blow up that way.
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by what-imright on Friday August 19, 2022 @03:07PM (#32524892)
Well there’s no point in being “terrified” because you can’t control the outcome. Why waste your last moment imagining your body decaying from fallout burns and then, actually having to endure it as well?

In all seriousness though I’m pretty sure one side in that conflict will intentionally bomb a plant and blame the other, both having the motive of revenge against Europe. Ukraine because nobody helped them and indeed the powers that be got out the popcorn, and Russia just because they’re crazy spiteful soviet shits like they always have been.

Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by epirogov on Saturday August 20, 2022 @07:35AM (#32531218)
I have gas mask with filter marked to 1952 year for me. Still very appropriate to put it on in first few days because of alfa and betta ray make any dust radioactive.
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by samketchup on Friday August 19, 2022 @01:39PM (#32523956)
I just wish we would stop funding foreign wars
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by verdverm on Friday August 19, 2022 @02:49PM (#32524716)
Would you rather have an entire country removed from the map?

Would you rather let bullies win and get their way?

Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by what-imright on Friday August 19, 2022 @03:12PM (#32524941)
We should’ve split Ukraine with Russia and made a new state, and avoided a potential war with a nuclear power, since Ukraine destroyed all their nukes after listening to pacifists. Ukraine BTW spent the cold war manufacturing hydrogen bombs to drop on US cities, so really who cares who wins so long as we don’t get involved
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by verdverm on Friday August 19, 2022 @04:38PM (#32525673)
Ukraine was formed by such an agreement which was subsequently violated by Russia. Why do you think another would result in different outcomes?

We care because countries with freedom support each other, because it is the right thing to do morally. Would you rather have authoritarians take over more of the world?

Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by Ekaros on Friday August 19, 2022 @05:55PM (#32526440)
Or not being evil and actually liberating Ukraine and rest of the Eastern Europe after defeating Germany in WW2...
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by what-imright on Friday August 19, 2022 @11:47PM (#32528865)
After hanging children from lamp posts and the rape of Berlin the allies figured out they weren't morally superior, gave up and went home
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by tomjen3 on Saturday August 20, 2022 @10:31AM (#32532308)
And yet they were morally superior. We just didn’t know what the soviets had done.
Re:Ask HN: Is anyone else terrified about a nuclear catastro... by ReadTheLicense on Friday August 19, 2022 @01:50PM (#32524080)
Because having a direct war a little later is so much better.