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A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

nrc.gov

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Re: A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

#441

Post by andy99 »

ern wrote: post #110
andy99 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally consider an area dangerous if I need to undergo radiation decontamination after entering it, continue emitting radiation after decontamination, and need to seek medical attention. Maybe the nuclear regulatory bodies have differen definitions?

I get a feeling that there are a lot of people trying to minimize this incident for some reason.

Yeah I stopped really looking at replies when I realized it was just a bunch of people telling me that falling in a nuclear reactor pool isn’t that bad and to go read the XKCD again if I don’t get it.

Re: A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

#442

Post by ErroneousBosh »

haskellshill wrote: post #427
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apparently they do have concerns. Well yeah. If someone falls in water at work, you get them checked out at the hospital. The paltry amount of radiation is kind of the least of your worries if there's even the smallest risk you got some water in your lungs. People can drown on dry land from about a tablespoon of water getting into their lungs.

> People can drown on dry land from about a tablespoon of water getting into their lungs. Well, I don't think there's such a big risk of that. Falling into a pool is something most of us have probably done. Being pushed by a friend as a kid for example. The risk of drowning is probably pretty comparable to the risk from the radiation (negligible).

Nah mate, you've got it backwards.

Even a tiny amount of water in your lungs is a trip to the hospital.

The amount of radiation that guy was exposed to is roughly the same as eating a banana, or driving through the middle of Aberdeen with your car windows down inhaling all the radon off the granite.

Re: A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

#443

Post by zamalek »

wiz21c wrote: post #229
Animats wrote: post #45

Palisades MI reactor. Currently shut down and de-fueled but a restart of this reactor is apparently underway, with new fuel assemblies being delivered.[1] Worker was wearing a life vest.[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Nuclear_Generating_S... [2] https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/10/michigan-nuclear-plant-wo...

dunno if the life vest bit comment of yours was sarcastic, but it is a funny remark for sure :-) it sounds like "guy felt down in a volcano, but fortunately, he had a life vest"

Your radiation exposure next to a coal power plant (thorium in ash) is significantly higher than a nuclear power plant (background radiation). I imagine this is much the same.

Re: A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

#444

Post by amarant »

sroussey wrote: post #422
throwaway894345 wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe people just don’t that water mitigates radiation really well? You can be very pro-nuclear and still be concerned about radioactive contamination if you don’t know that radioactivity is dramatically reduced by just a few feet of water.

If you’re in the water, you may get a few feet less of that protection. Particularly if you swim down.

According to Randall Munroe, you'd actually experience less radiation about a metre under the water in a spent fuel pool then you do walking down the street.

https://what-if.xkcd.com/29/

On a tangent, I kinda love the fact that I've learned more about nuclear physics, orbital mechanics, and relativistic speeds from a poorly drawn webcomic than I have from any other source. (Ok KSP might actually have xkcd beat on orbital mechanics)

Re: A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

#446

Post by bariumbitmap »

amarant wrote: post #444
sroussey wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re in the water, you may get a few feet less of that protection. Particularly if you swim down.

According to Randall Munroe, you'd actually experience less radiation about a metre under the water in a spent fuel pool then you do walking down the street. https://what-if.xkcd.com/29/ On a tangent, I kinda love the fact that I've learned more about nuclear physics, orbital mechanics, and relativistic speeds from a poorly drawn webcomic than I have from any other source. (Ok KSP might actually have xkcd beat on orb…

Why not both? Kerbal Space Program is XKCD approved:

https://xkcd.com/1356/

Re: A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

#448

Post by fsh »

loa_in_ wrote: post #361
wildylion wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Might be. If the reactor was recently defueled, especially, might there be more junk floating in the water? If said junk was alpha- or beta-emitting, it could be enough of a danger for cancer.

It almost sounds plausible but it's not. All fuel is extremely heavy elements that in still water falls down and deposits on the bottom.

The fuel is (almost) harmless, it's the fission products that make reactors dangerous. Many of those are water-soluble. Of course the fuel elements should be encased, but drinking pool water is probably not a great idea anyway.

Re: A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

#449

Post by lazide »

rcruzeiro wrote: post #383
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question, as daft as it might sound - do they have to chlorinate the water to stop stuff growing in it? I'd expect it'd be about "swimming pool" warm so just great for all sorts of manky algae growing.

The water is borated and heavily purified. You don’t want stuff growing inside, but at the same time you don’t want to have chlorinated water slowly corroding the metal components.

Check out this study. Pretty wild! [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7760952/]

Re: A worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool

#450

Post by sim7c00 »

alluro2 wrote: post #343
mjd wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't lick my own keyboard, but licking my own asshole sounds interesting

I mean, cats are pretty smart and picky about what they do and don't do, and they do it all the time

they are also very flexible
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