# A Nuclear Hail Mary in Japan!

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2011/03/a-nuclear-hail-mary-in-japan/
- Published: 2011-03-15T13:02:24-04:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

Interview with David Lochbaum, UCSby Roger Witherspoon

David Lochbaum is one of the most knowledgeable nuclear experts I have ever known.
In this interview he talks about what will undoubtedly be the next big problem, 
the **spent fuel pools at the reactors**.

_The announcement by the Japanese government that sea water is being pumped into
the damaged reactor building at the Fukushima signals the failure of all contingency
plans to prevent a meltdown of the fuel in the reactor itself. It leaves open the
question of the safety of the hundreds of tons of spent fuel stored nearby in pools
40 feet deep. It is not clear if the structural integrity of the pool has been maintained
or if the explosion has damaged the irradiated fuel bundles or the water flow systems
serving them. David Lochbaum, nuclear safety engineer of the Union of Concerned 
Scientists and a consultant to both industry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
said in an interview this evening that the declaration by the government that the
massive hydrogen explosion had not destroyed the reactor vessel itself was only 
part of the story.   _

For the entire interview

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