BYU profs create new nuclear reactor to produce nuclear energy more safely

Re:BYU profs create new nuclear reactor to produce nuclear e... by andrepd on Friday October 07, 2022 @07:52AM (#33120004)

> why did a crew of people wade into highly radioactive water -- a probable suicide mission

This is a common myth (probably recently propagated by the scare-mongering TV series), but that mission was perfectly safe. Three men, equipped with dos meters, waded into the water and opened a valve, that was it. One died of a heart attack at 65 and the other 2 are still alive.

Furthermore, the operation was in the end unnecessary: there was no risk of such an explosion.

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Re:BYU profs create new nuclear reactor to produce nuclear e... by EB66 on Friday October 07, 2022 @11:55AM (#33123027)

I'm getting my information from the book written by Andrew Leatherbarrow "Chernobyl 01:23:40" -- not a TV series. Yes, according to him they are still alive. I said it was a probable suicide mission because all of them went in there knowing full well they might not make it out.

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Re:BYU profs create new nuclear reactor to produce nuclear e... by kelnos on Friday October 07, 2022 @02:44PM (#33125344)

So, considering that all three of them lived, was it that they got exceedingly lucky, or was their risk assessment just way off?

I guess the point is that it doesn't matter; if you believe something to be a probable suicide mission, then you don't do it unless you are very afraid that a disaster will otherwise occur.

But then you also have to question if their assessment of the risk of further disaster was also correct. But I guess subsequent studies have confirmed that high level of risk?

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