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Toshiba Shares Plummet After Warning of 'Billions' in Losses (cnn.com)

Toshiba's troubles keep piling up. From a report on CNN Money: The Japanese firm's shares plunged 20% on Wednesday, after the company warned it is expecting billions of dollars in losses from its takeover of a U.S. nuclear construction business last year. "We're still figuring out the exact numbers, but it could reach up to several hundred billion yen," CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa told reporters Tuesday. Toshiba's U.S. nuclear-power subsidiary Westinghouse acquired CB&I Stone & Webster late last year, when Toshiba was still struggling to recover from a $1.2 billion accounting scandal. Toshiba's shares dived in the months following that scandal, which led to a major management reshuffle after the Japanese conglomerate admitted it had doctored financial results for years. The company reported a loss of 460 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for 2015.

100 comments

  1. And yet Uber valuation keeps going up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And Uber is projected to lose 2.6 billion next year.

    Funny how that works.

  2. Better title: Bury the lead in a shallow grave... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How I was able to afford to buy shares of Toshiba with this one weird trick.

  3. Toshiba Invented Flash Memory, So.... by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 1

    It seems to me they'll always have that to fall back on. I assume they have all sorts of patent money coming in from that. But yeah, nuclear construction sounds expensive.

    Link about Toshiba:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    1. Re:Toshiba Invented Flash Memory, So.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The terms of initial Flash memory patents are now elapsed.

    2. Re:Toshiba Invented Flash Memory, So.... by Hadlock · · Score: 1

      Flash memory is literally a commodity traded on the market like wheat or corn now. Your post is like saying "well at least Toshiba has wheat to fall back on"

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    3. Re:Toshiba Invented Flash Memory, So.... by SlashdotOgre · · Score: 1

      So is oil, and while they're not #1 right now, Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Aramco, Pemex, etc. are not exactly hurting too badly.

      --
      Sadly, PS/2 was yet another victim of USB, which doesn't care what you plug into it, the electrical slut.
    4. Re:Toshiba Invented Flash Memory, So.... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      It seems to me they'll always have that to fall back on. I assume they have all sorts of patent money coming in from that.

      Toshiba's original patents for flash were issued in the 1980s, and have long since expired. Sandisk has some current patents for NAND flash, but I don't think Toshiba is still getting any royalties for flash.

    5. Re:Toshiba Invented Flash Memory, So.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it takes a special kind of special to think someone producing flash memory should be doing well because someone producing oil is doing well.

      clearly, since cars and flash memory are both things that you can hook up to a laptop, GM should be doing well, since Toshiba should be doing well, because BP is doing well.

      people who are too dumb to argue the actual argument but are lonely and need to socialize because they're ugly nerd outcasts in society make up retarded strawmen in stead (get it - in stead)?

      you're a dumb loser.

    6. Re:Toshiba Invented Flash Memory, So.... by Maury+Markowitz · · Score: 1

      > But yeah, nuclear construction sounds expensive

      "Nuclear fission, continual business failures for 50 years!"

      Siemens. Framatome. Westinghouse. Babcock and Wilcox. Toshiba. AECL. BNFL.

  4. Not smart business by wbr1 · · Score: 0

    I like nuke reactors. I think much can be done with them to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. However, due to the regulatory red tape and NIMBY/enviro freakout factions in the US, investing in reactor construction in the US seems like a very expensive and extremely risky proposition. I wouldn't put a large portion of my eggs in that basket.

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
    1. Re:Not smart business by Stormcrow309 · · Score: 2

      I think the issue is the building as it is being designed and the poor engineering controls at Westinghouse. Add in the issues related to improper N&Ds by Westinghouse's quality engineering, it just means ballooned cost.The work is solid, but the rework due to poor engineering controls and wastage is MASSIVELY expensive from the people I know on the sites.

      --

      In God we trust, all others require data.

    2. Re: Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Oh sure. One of the most long lasting and devastating industries in the world and red tape is the problem. /s

      No. You are the problem. Regulation is necessary for safety and competition. So tired of lazy right wingers and their "if we just got rid of the red tape" bullshit.

      I believe in nuclear power. But corner cutting cannot be allowed. If you can't do it without putting everyone at risk for your own profits, then you don't get to do it.

    3. Re: Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Oh sure. One of the most long lasting and devastating industries in the world and red tape is the problem.

      Coal has red tape? But I believe in coal. Corner cutting cannot be allowed. If you can't do it without putting everyone at risk for your own profits, then you don't get to do it.

    4. Re:Not smart business by whoever57 · · Score: 0

      I like nuke reactors. I think much can be done with them to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

      How do you stop the next Fukashima from happening? It's a cost issue and people building nuclear reactors don't want to pay for larger margins of safety.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    5. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > However, due to the regulatory red tape and NIMBY/enviro freakout factions in the US, investing in reactor construction in the US seems like a very expensive and extremely risky proposition. I wouldn't put a large portion of my eggs in that basket.

      The acquisition aimed to do the opposite of that:

      "PITTSBURGH: Oct. 27, 2015 Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC signed a definitive agreement to acquire CB&I Stone & Webster Inc., the nuclear construction and integrated services businesses of CB&I. This deal supports Westinghouse’s strategic growth initiatives by expanding the company’s capacities across its global footprint.
      Beyond the focus of today’s new-plant projects, the agreement will support Westinghouse’s growth in decontamination, decommissioning and remediation services ...
      [A]s a result of the acquisition, Westinghouse will assume project operations and assets, including AP1000 plant project contracts in the U.S. and China; heavy cranes and equipment; and 11 facilities in the U.S. and Asia. Westinghouse is in negotiations with Fluor Corporation that, if successful, would result in Fluor hiring and managing the construction workforce on these two U.S. projects."

      via: http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/About/News/View/Westinghouse-Acquires-CB-I-Stone-Webster-Inc

      CB&I Stone & Webster was bought for their decommissioning expertise, not for their plant construction expertise. I guess the anti-nuke crazies won.

    6. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      poor engineering controls at Westinghouse

      There were issues with quality at a modular unit manufacturing site in Louisiana, but otherwise there have only been the expected challenges when building a large first of a kind plant. Yes, it is expensive, but once built the plant can run for 80 to 100 years and pay for itself many times over.

    7. Re: Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You say that as if you're meaning to be contradictory... but the parent probably agrees exactly with what you've said.

    8. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You stop the next Fukushima by learning from the past. Don't put your emergency generators in a place where they can be underwater.

      There, I fixed it.

    9. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      However, due to the regulatory red tape necessitated by greedy, unscrupulous politicians and busisness a-holes

      FTFY

    10. Re:Not smart business by hey! · · Score: 2

      It's not regulatory red tape, it's cheap fossil fuels. US natural gas spot prices dropped from $14 / MMBTU in 2006 to around $2.60 in 2016. Over the same period nuclear plants under construction were completed, but

      Prior to that nuclear had to weather a 66% drop in coal prices from the 1970s to 2001 and a 8% drop in oil prices from 1980 to 1998.

      There is really one and only one compelling economic argument for nuclear at this point: the climate change costs of fossil fuels are externalized, amounting to an involuntary public subsidy of fossil fuels.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    11. Re:Not smart business by colordev · · Score: 0

      It's best we keep moving away from the nuclear industry. In Finland two new nuclear power plants are currently being built. The French state is desperately trying to get rid of its state-controlled nuclear company Areva and it seems plausible that the remains of Areva - company may not even be able finalize building of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant.

      Another (Russian) nuclear plant that is under construction is expected to produce more expensive MWh's than most of the competing energy sources. In practice, the some foolish buyers of Fennovoima nuclear power plant's energy have been committing into buying energy at a price of 50€/ MWh, while the other energy sources are clearly cheaper than that. Its quite likely that the Fennovoima's nuclear power plant never be producing any energy at a competitive price.

      On the other hand, the price of solar keeps sinking 50% in a decade and it's already enough competitive with the prices of other energy sources. Development of high capacity solar energy storage solutions is much more needed than the new nuclear power plants.

      - - - - -
      7f1bb2f1a92eeda5b8d9d4e424da104bf2e74e75

    12. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      How do you stop the next Fukashima from happening?

      Its simple. Don't put a plant that is not designed to operate underwater in a location where it can be hit by a tsunami. Its not about safety margin. They designed for earthquakes and there was plenty of safety margin. They did not design them to be suddenly deluged, add all the margin you want and it won't matter.

    13. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Its funny how you fail to mention the lower cost, faster construction of many plants by the Chinese and Koreans. You just pick a few worst case first of a kind builds.

    14. Re:Not smart business by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 0

      However, due to the regulatory red tape and NIMBY/enviro freakout factions in the US, investing in reactor construction in the US seems like a very expensive and extremely risky proposition.

      Well, Trump did say that he wants to increase out nuclear capacity, so I guess he's planning for Atomic Boy Scout reactors in everyone's backyards . . .

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    15. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You stop the next Fukushima by learning from the past. Don't put your emergency generators in a place where they can be underwater.

      There, I fixed it.

      No, this is the wrong answer. Nuclear plants are designed to withstand credible external events. You don't place a plant where it will experiences a credible event it is not designed for. When you design a nuclear plant to withstand an external hazard, you design it so that ALL of the safety systems are functional before, during and after the event, not just the emergency generators. Nuclear plants typically are designed for flooding up to a given level of their structures, you don't place them where flooding can exceed that level which is exactly what happened, made worse by the destructive force of the tsunami (which is actually a different event altogether than simple flooding as it also comes with destructive force). They never should have placed the Fukushima plants where they could have been hit by a tsunami.

    16. Re:Not smart business by Stormcrow309 · · Score: 1

      Most of the rebuild happen due to changes in design between the module being constructed and assembly on site. Who the hell subtracts the consideration of a bolt being in the way between the plan for the module when the marrying module been already placed? Why not make work packages cumulative, just showing the changes made in rev 1, rev 2, etc... not considering that some poor craft has to figure out what the hell to build? But hey, that is the Westinghouse way. How can you meet INPO principle 7 - Build as designed, if you are not designing it.

      --

      In God we trust, all others require data.

    17. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "How do you stop the next Fukashima"

      By not being complete morons. Fukashima was a perfect storm of stupidity. The plant was built in a tsunami flood zone, long after the plant was built they realized this and took (half hearted) steps to bring the plant up to code, steps a grade schooler could tell wouldn't work (they built new generators out of the flood zone, but routed the power for those generators through a distribution box in the flood zone). After the tsunami there was a culture of "we can handle it", so no one hit the panic button which would likely have brought in the necessary equipment/personnel to get power back up before the reactor buildings began exploding.

    18. Re:Not smart business by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      Solar power...in Finland?

      Going to be a few years before that is economic. But Finland is an edge case...edge if the Arctic ocean.

      Just hand bottles of vodka in front of treadmills and let the citizens generate the power.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    19. Re: Not smart business by AzN1337c0d3r · · Score: 1

      How do you define what corner cutting is? Nuclear always has some non-zero risk. We can make it extremely unlikely, but that costs money. So you want the power plant operator to operate at break-even or even profit loss before you are satisfied?

    20. Re:Not smart business by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      investing in reactor construction in the US seems like a very expensive and extremely risky proposition

      They didn't invest, they bought out a competitor. Toshiba is already the largest operator and service supplier and second largest engineering and construction company in the nuclear industry. (Google Westinghouse Nuclear)

    21. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 0

      You don't place a plant where it will experiences a credible event it is not designed for.

      Fukushima has yet to experience a credible event it was not designed for. It is absurd to claim that Fukushima shouldn't be there just because the design was a bit inadequate for the credible event it experienced. There are two relatively simple fixes that would separately prevent further such accidents, a higher sea wall and better distribution of emergency power.

      made worse by the destructive force of the tsunami (which is actually a different event altogether than simple flooding as it also comes with destructive force).

      Simple flooding often does as well, sometimes considerably more than the tsunami brought to bear on Fukushima. And the existing sea wall would have absorbed or reflected a considerable portion of the energy of the tsunami. That's in part why the reactors were still there afterward.

      My view is that this is normal engineering. Mistakes and unknowns happen. The wise person learns from it and implements the necessary adaptations and fixes, rather than merely deciding without even a shred of rational justification that the activity in question is completely unsafe for a given location merely because something bad happened.

    22. Re: Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 2

      So you want the power plant operator to operate at break-even or even profit loss before you are satisfied?

      I think it's rather obvious. They don't want the plant to operate at all. The concern over safety is just the pretext. Making nuclear plants too expensive to operate is the end goal.

    23. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 0

      They did not design them to be suddenly deluged, add all the margin you want and it won't matter.

      You miss the obvious. Enough margin and the deluge doesn't happen.

    24. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like nuke reactors. I think much can be done with them to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. However, due to the regulatory red tape and NIMBY/enviro freakout factions in the US, investing in reactor construction in the US seems like a very expensive and extremely risky proposition. I wouldn't put a large portion of my eggs in that basket.

      Then you don't know the business. Nuclear power is a decent enough industry in the US but the vast majority of it is exported as the US has major regulatory issues regarding nuclear. There are plans to build 5 new reactors in the US over the next 5 to 10 years, but China is building 70 or more and all of them are either Westinghouse (Toshiba owned) AP1000s or derivatives.

      http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/plans-for-new-reactors-worldwide.aspx

    25. Re:Not smart business by Nethead · · Score: 1

      Just hand bottles of vodka in front of treadmills and let the citizens generate the power.

      Drunken Rage Against the Machine?

      --
      -- I have a private email server in my basement.
    26. Re: Not smart business by Nethead · · Score: 1

      WhooPPSS! I see what you did there!

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

      --
      -- I have a private email server in my basement.
    27. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The tsunami strike was not considered a credible event for the plant design. If you look at their safety or licensing basis, you will see that the plant itself was not designed to handle a tsunami deluge. Unfortunately the Japanese decided they'd try to make that event not credible by building a wall so that a tsunami would not deluge the plant. Yes, had they built adequate protection, a high enough wall, then the event would have no longer been credible.

      Nuclear plant safety requires that all systems are designed to withstand the event. There was not a single safety system, backup system, or even power system that was designed to withstand a tsunami deluge. The reason was they wrongly considered it not credible by virtue of the wall. The engineering lesson learned is to not place the plant where it can be deluged by a Tsunami. If you want to count on a wall for that, you'd better get it high enough.

    28. Re:Not smart business by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Yes, it is expensive, but once built the plant can run for 80 to 100 years and pay for itself many times over.

      No. When you consider the interest payments on the capital investment, and the amortized cost of decommissioning, nuclear is not competitive with shale gas, and cannot operate without subsidies. Nuclear is no longer even competitive with wind. If current trends continue, solar will be more economical within a decade. While the cost of wind and solar are going down, the cost of nuclear is going UP.

    29. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 1

      The engineering lesson learned is to not place the plant where it can be deluged by a Tsunami. If you want to count on a wall for that, you'd better get it high enough.

      So why is the lesson move the plant rather than the more obvious build a higher wall that actually covers reasonable risks that the location has seen over appropriate time scales?

      Every location with have something wrong with it.

    30. Re:Not smart business by blindseer · · Score: 1, Insightful

      If current trends continue, solar will be more economical within a decade. While the cost of wind and solar are going down, the cost of nuclear is going UP.

      Do you think that maybe, possibly, perhaps the costs of nuclear power has gone up because we've stopped building them for 40 years? The people that knew how to do this are all retired, senile, or dead now. We see this in every industry that prices go down as experience improves. This can even be seen as a single project, like a large building, progresses. The first ten stories take longer to build than the next ten, and the next ten take less time yet.

      Do you think that maybe, possibly, perhaps that solar prices have gone down because of government subsidies? Forget that other energy sectors got subsidies, that's irrelevant. What I'm talking about is that while no nuclear power reactors have been built for 40 years the government has been giving the solar power industry all kinds of money and other benefits.

      Now, if perhaps, maybe, we'd have been treating solar and nuclear the same I could argue that nuclear would be cheaper than solar. Even after decades of holding nuclear power back, and giving solar power a push, we still see solar power lagging in some very important ways. Nuclear power has a lower carbon footprint than solar, and nuclear works in all weather.

      For 40 years the cost of new nuclear was effectively infinite, there were no licenses issued and so no matter how much one spent they got no new capacity. Now that we see some people in the government willing to grant a license then perhaps we can see nuclear power prices go down. If they keep issuing licenses then it will continue to go down.

      Nuclear power has been caught in this death spiral, it costs more because no licenses were issued, no licenses were issued because it cost so much to get into nuclear power.

      After holding nuclear back for 40 years, giving solar a lead, then you claim that in another 10 years that solar might be cheaper than nuclear. Well, what do you think would have happened if we'd have held solar back for 50 years and then let it finally compete?

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    31. Re:Not smart business by blindseer · · Score: 1

      How do you stop the next Fukashima from happening?

      First by understanding what went wrong. The reactor survived the tsunami, shutdown successfully from an automated system that detected the seismic activity. So, nothing in the reactor itself failed. What failed was the systems designed to dissipate the heat from the short lived fission products. At least one of the failed reactors was near the end of a fuel cycle and so it had a very large proportion of fission products in the fuel, meaning the core was going to get dangerously hot if cooling stopped. Without fission occurring only the thermal capacity of the fuel kept the pumps running, once it cooled down the head of steam was lost. Once steam pressure is lost the system could not be restarted, I'm not sure why.

      Without power to run the cooling pumps the water in the reactor started to get hot, then boil. For reasons of neutron efficiency the fuel is contained by a zirconium alloy. Zirconium, when hot enough, will burn in water. This burning water and zirconium releases hydrogen gas. There are systems to recombine the hydrogen to water but they were not working due to lost power. Either out of a concern for releasing the potentially radioactive hydrogen gas to the air, or a failure of the systems to vent to air, the hydrogen gas was allowed to accumulate in the building. The buildup continued until it reached an explosive level, and then exploded. This further damaged the structure, cooling systems, and containment.

      When hot enough to melt zirconium and steel the fuel can lose containment, pile up on the bottom of the vessel, and fission can restart. This makes it hotter. Adding water can moderate the neutrons making the fission rate, and therefore heat production, increase. Not adding water can mean leaving hot volatile metals exposed to the atmosphere where it can be spread by the heated air. Adding water can also fuel more zirconium fires and create another explosion hazard. Not adding water means this hot mess of a core will melt through the concrete. If there is not enough concrete to melt and mix with the fuel to stop the fission it will melt until it hits the water table, the water will flash boil, and fission will stop, by ejecting this mix of fuel, fission products, burning zirconium, and boiling concrete into the air.

      So, how do we keep this from happening? Use a moderator other than water. Use a coolant other than water. Use containment structures built out of something other than zirconium and steel. Don't allow fission products to build up. Dissipate the heat in a way that does not rely on pumps.

      Use a graphite moderator. Use a salt coolant. Use containment made of a nickel alloy. Separate out the fission products while the reactor is operating. Build the cooling such that if anything goes wrong that air convection can keep it cool.

      Where do we find this "magical" reactor? It's called the liquid fluoride thorium reactor, or LFTR. Look it up.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    32. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't worry. Trump will fix it. Trump promised we'd win so much we'd get tired of it. He's going to make nuclear HUGE and put it all over. Starting with the mideast maybe.

      Trump promised we'd win so much we'd get tired of it. Maybe he meant the past. Maybe that's why we elected him. We're tired of being Winners.

      Oblig Whiner joke here.

    33. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First you should distinguish the plant from the siting characteristics. GE designed the plant, not the site. GE will tell you plants of that design are not intended to withstand such a tsunami. They will show how they can withstand earthquakes of a given magnitude (with margin), tornadoes and tornadoes missiles (with margin), etc, but NOT tsunamis that suddenly deluge the plant with destructive force. It is the responsibility of the licensee to put the plant where it cannot experience such an event, or in other words they must determine that event is not credible at the location.

      Clearly the wall did not make the event non-credible. Even a higher wall might not. Nuclear plant safety systems are built with layers of protection and redundancy against design basis events. A single wall, even if high enough, does not meet that criteria. Done properly there would need to be assurance that the plant would remain safe even with a wall failure. For this, all plant safety systems would need to be designed to function as intended after that wall failure. But GE will tell you that it clearly was not designed that way. Bring on the earthquakes, tornadoes, plane crashes, and design level flooding all day, but not the huge tsunami.

    34. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 1

      First you should distinguish the plant from the siting characteristics. GE designed the plant, not the site. GE will tell you plants of that design are not intended to withstand such a tsunami. They will show how they can withstand earthquakes of a given magnitude (with margin), tornadoes and tornadoes missiles (with margin), etc, but NOT tsunamis that suddenly deluge the plant with destructive force. It is the responsibility of the licensee to put the plant where it cannot experience such an event, or in other words they must determine that event is not credible at the location.

      You're still doing it. Really what is so hard to grasp about a sea wall high enough to prevent a 1 in 500 year event, which incidentally would prevent the 2011 accident? Why are we to blame site location? It's irrational.

      Clearly the wall did not make the event non-credible. Even a higher wall might not.

      Actually, yes, it does because it shows that they were designing the defenses of the plant for large tsunami. That means, in your lingo, that the tsunami event is credible.

      Nuclear plant safety systems are built with layers of protection and redundancy against design basis events. A single wall, even if high enough, does not meet that criteria. Done properly there would need to be assurance that the plant would remain safe even with a wall failure.

      Now, we're moving the goal posts. Even if we were to take your concern seriously, there are several additional ways to provide that redundancy and the Fukushima plant used at least one of them (emergency generators).

    35. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so you're comparing most expensive nuclear with cheapest solar. you are what people like me call a person who cannot think for themselves, and just regergitate shit you read in strange combinations. people like you on both sides of any argument keep arguing without reaching a conclusion - because none of the arguments you make are valid.

      compare cheapest solar inclusive of energy storage to handle base power (first look up what base power is, moron) with cheapest nuclear.

      hint: solar and nuclear don't compete - they're not designed for the same thing. your whole argument, albeit one a retard makes, is pointless. nuclear competes with things like coal and gas - not solar and wind. have i mentioned you're stupid? you're stupid.

    36. Re:Not smart business by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Do you think that maybe, possibly, perhaps the costs of nuclear power has gone up because we've stopped building them for 40 years?

      Why does that matter? If they are uneconomic, they are uneconomic. The reasons are irrelevant. Do you really believe that we should squander money subsidizing nukes because that is the "fair" thing to do? Fair to whom?

    37. Re:Not smart business by blindseer · · Score: 0

      Why does that matter? If they are uneconomic, they are uneconomic. The reasons are irrelevant.

      Irrelevant? Nuclear power is uneconomic only because the government deemed it so. This is violation of a very basic freedom, the freedom to choose how we spend our money. This is not how a free nation or strong economy is built.

      Do you really believe that we should squander money subsidizing nukes because that is the "fair" thing to do? Fair to whom?

      I don't want anything subsidized. I just want nuclear power allowed.

      Tell me something, is it fair that the government is talking about how we need to reduce our carbon footprint but denies us access to an energy source we know of that has a lower footprint to any other energy source we know of? Not only is the government telling us we need to lower our carbon footprint but is spending our tax money to give us CFL lighting, attic insulation, and other energy saving measures. We would not need this government subsidy for CFLs, insulation, electric cars, or solar panels if the government would allow nuclear power plants to be built. Just a handful of selling licenses would mean lower carbon output, lower energy prices, and no subsidies.

      This makes me wonder if the federal government is really all that interested in lowering carbon output. It makes me wonder if they really aren't just buying votes. Well, I *know* that they are buying votes, but to what end?

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    38. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you're a freaking genious.
      "Then you don't know the business" ..proceeds to agree with and provide examples supporting what the guy who doesn't know his business just said.

      is something physically wrong with your brain?

    39. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now, we're moving the goal posts. Even if we were to take your concern seriously, there are several additional ways to provide that redundancy and the Fukushima plant used at least one of them (emergency generators).

      No, absolutely not moving the goal posts. I described the fundamental principals of nuclear safety which you seem to want to ignore. I'll repeat it... when you design for a credible event you ensure that safety systems can function before, during, and after the event. This is true for earthquakes, tornadoes, plane crashes, etc. Simply moving the generators to a higher location fails that test. The plant's electrical and control systems were still deluged and damaged, critical equipment was underwater, access to areas of the plant was cut off, etc. Simply assuming a higher wall is good enough does not pass that test either.

      You COULD design the plant to withstand a tsunami. That would involve a lot more than raising the generator elevation. Structures would be hardened to withstand those destructive forces, the design flood level would be raised to a point above the expected highest credible peak level, alternate controls might be installed, different types of flood seals might be used, plant interior doors would be water barriers and be required to be kept shut, operating procedures would be in place that direct the proper operator response to the event, all site personnel would be trained on how to response, and a number of other things I probably can't even think of at the moment.

      But it the end, this particular plant was not designed to withstand a tsunami. Japan thought the wall was good enough to prevent a tsunami from hitting the plant, they were wrong. Yes, a higher wall preventing the tsunami from hitting the plant could have averted things, and yes, higher generators could have helped in the response, but that doesn't mean either is good enough. A question to ask is "Did I fully consider every credible failure mode during the event?"

    40. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 1

      I described the fundamental principals of nuclear safety which you seem to want to ignore.

      You should too. That's why, for example, Fukushima received prior to the earthquake a significant extension on life despite because an older, less safe design. Those same "principles" prevented newer, safer nuclear plants from being constructed (a whole generation of Japanese nuclear plants in design or under construction were wiped out in 1995-2005) while requiring older plants to continue operating beyond their design lifespan. Similarly, those "principles" delayed reevaluation of the tsunami threat when new research was published in 2001.

      Second, actual risk analysis should be done including learning from the past. Here, it's worth noting that Fukushima had followed the very principles you claim are fundamental including at least two back up systems for tsunami (three actually, counting your hardening buildings as a system). And at the time the plant was constructed, Fukushima would have withstood a 1 in 100 year tsunami event and earthquake.

      But it the end, this particular plant was not designed to withstand a tsunami.

      Which remains bullshit. It was designed to withstand some pretty high tsunami (about 5 meters), but not one this high (as high as 15 meters). Please recall that a number of nuclear plants did withstand this particular tsunami and there were no other cases of partial inundation. So we know that nuclear plants can both be designed to withstand tsunami and succeed at that task.

      Yes, a higher wall preventing the tsunami from hitting the plant could have averted things, and yes, higher generators could have helped in the response, but that doesn't mean either is good enough.

      Either solution in isolation would have prevented all of the melt downs, long term mass evacuations, and clean up costs that are somewhere north of $10 billion. Saying that the stark difference between a non-accident and multiple reactor meltdowns isn't "good enough" shows the utter bankruptcy and absurdity of your position.

    41. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which remains bullshit. It was designed to withstand some pretty high tsunami (about 5 meters), but not one this high (as high as 15 meters). Please recall that a number of nuclear plants did withstand this particular tsunami and there were no other cases of partial inundation. So we know that nuclear plants can both be designed to withstand tsunami and succeed at that task.

      No, the wall was designed to stop 5 meter tsunamis from hitting the plant, the reason was that the plant was not capable of withstanding it. Why is that so hard to understand? And as I said, the plants do have a design flood elevation, so 'partial inundation' not exceeding that level can be dealt with. But a tsunami is much more than flooding, it is a destructive force ripping things apart. Also, a sudden deluge well above the design flood level is not something the plat can withstand without great risk even without destructive tsunami forces.

      And I never said "the stark difference between a non-accident and multiple reactor meltdowns isn't "good enough"", you made that up to make a point I suppose. Just having the generators higher would absolutely NOT ensure no fuel melt or release. Just having the wall higher MOST LIKELY will, assuming the wall holds up and is high enough, but there is still risk . You may view that risk as sufficiently small, but its not a necessary one to take, which is why nuclear safety principles are based on redundancy and diversity in defense against any design basis events.

      Nuclear plants have proven to hold up well against design basis events. All the plants in Japan withstood the earthquake quite well even though it was greater than design basis because of margin. Plants have been hit by tornadoes and hurricanes and come out unscathed and ready to keep operating. We don't accept significant damage to the plant as a result of design basis events. You seem to be OK with the plant being significantly damaged during a tsunami. Safety experts will tell you that is not acceptable.

    42. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 1

      No, the wall was designed to stop 5 meter tsunamis from hitting the plant, the reason was that the plant was not capable of withstanding it. Why is that so hard to understand?

      Because it's an inane point to make. The seawall is part of the plant.

      And I never said "the stark difference between a non-accident and multiple reactor meltdowns isn't "good enough"",

      You should have written something else then.

    43. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the seawall is not part of the plant. The plant was designed by GE and there was no sea wall in the design. The seawall is part of the site. Nuclear plant designers know little or nothing about tsunami wall engineering. It is up to the licensee and the regulator to make sure that plant cannot be hit by a tsunami.

      I should not have written what I never wrote? OK.

    44. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 1

      No, the seawall is not part of the plant. The plant was designed by GE and there was no sea wall in the design.

      There is confusion here that shouldn't be. The nuclear plant is the overall local system, not merely the reactors themselves. So it naturally includes things like a seawall. The seawall is on plant property and solely present to further the needs of the plant. That makes it just as much a part of the plant as other routine elements like an access road, security fence, or grid access which aren't part of the reactor structures themselves.

      Further, GE designed the reactors and as I recall oversaw construction of them. But the plant was designed by TEPCO (including of course, the seawall). You will find a number of stories that are quite clear on this design responsibility distinction.

      I should not have written what I never wrote? OK.

      The quote in question:

      Yes, a higher wall preventing the tsunami from hitting the plant could have averted things, and yes, higher generators could have helped in the response, but that doesn't mean either is good enough.

      That sentence speaks for itself. Sure, these fairly simple changes could have completely eliminated the accident and its huge consequences, "but that doesn't mean either is good enough". Write something different, if you don't want to be accused of dismissing the difference between a huge accident and a non-accident as not "good enough".

    45. Re:Not smart business by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      There are more arguments for nuclear depending on where you are. Energy independence can be one. The fuel market is a lot less volatile than the oil market and it's trivial to stockpile fuel.

    46. Re:Not smart business by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      Did you bother reading the article? The chart title is "Fuel Prices in Heat Production".
      http://www.stat.fi/til/ehi/201...

      Do you even know the difference between MWt and MWe?

    47. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 1

      First you should distinguish the plant from the siting characteristics. GE designed the plant, not the site. GE will tell you plants of that design are not intended to withstand such a tsunami.

      Here's what I think is particularly inane about this argument:

      1) If a "credible" risk isn't explicitly anticipated in the plant design or ruled out by "siting characteristics", then the plant shouldn't be built there.

      2) You decide a seawall is neither part of a plant design nor a siting characteristic and thus, can be outright ignored.

      3) Thus, a plant shouldn't be built anywhere a seawall would be required.

      The obvious problem with this chain of argument is that a good seawall can greatly reduce the risk of putting a nuclear plant on the coast (which incidentally is one of the best places in the world to put nuclear plants) so that it has comparable flooding risk to any other water-side location. And it does that, no matter how you choose to classify seawalls.

      So your argument is a huge fallacy of semantics with sole dependence on your classification of seawalls as something you can ignore. You can see the effects of the fallacy if you were to reclassify seawalls as part of the plant rather than not. It doesn't change the operation of the plant, its risks, or any real world stuff. But suddenly, the site of the nuclear plant goes from inappropriate to appropriate.

      A trivial semantics shift like this should not result in a non-trivial change in the outcome of the argument. That is how we can see that this is a fallacy of semantics.

    48. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess the difference here is that you think 'could have' is good enough. I don't, nor does any nuclear safety engineer settle for 'could have'. The existing wall 'could have' if the tsunami were smaller.

        Had they designed the plant to withstand a tsunami instead of depending on a wall to prevent one from hitting the plant, there would not have been an accident. Had they not sited the plant where they did, in that path of a potential tsunami, there would not have been an accident. Unless you have high enough confidence that you know a wall height that will cover any future tsunami, and have considered every possible failure of that wall to function properly (such as impeding water regress for one example, or having several larger earthquakes before a tsunami, weakening the structure for another), you can't depend on the wall. You certainly can't depend on just having higher generators as backup to an ineffective wall.

      I'm all for nuclear, it is essential in my opinion and we need much more of it, but you have to do it right. There is clearly a case here where fundamental safety principals were not fully employed when siting this plant. If you had a plant of a different design that was intentionally developed to withstand a massive destructive tsunami, then siting behind a wall would be quite fine. Fortunately the plant was designed with a robust containment system that limited release. And the real tragedies lie elsewhere, where villages also depending on tsunami walls were devastated and had large death tolls.

    49. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK, if YOU want to play semantics and make the wall part of the "plant", then you must describe the event and the design for the event appropriately. In this case, the event is a massive tsunami breaching the wall. The design basis of the plant did not consider a massive tsunami breach of the wall a credible event. The "reactor building and associated structures" were not properly designed to handle this event. The entire "plant" was sited in place where this event could happen.

      Had the entire plant properly considered the event, and designed for it using common nuclear safety practices, they would have hardened the "reactor and associated structures", flood proofed, raised generators and fuel supplies, added contingency fuel supplies to extend emergency diesel run time to account for lack of accessibility, added sealed doors in other locations and procedural requirements to keep flood doors closed, and a ton of other things. Then THAT would have resulted in certainly of not only nuclear safety but also generally saving the asset from tremendous remediation costs. That would have been quite acceptable.

        If you want to depend on sea wall alone for preventing the "reactor and associated structures" from being hit by a tsunami, please tell me where the redundancy and diversity principles of nuclear safety are being employed? Raising generators will not save the plant from being severely impaired, and sever impairment of the plant is NOT an acceptable outcome.

    50. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 1

      Had they designed the plant to withstand a tsunami instead of depending on a wall to prevent one from hitting the plant,

      Not even wrong. The wall was how they designed the plant to withstand a tsunami. The emergency generators were the backup.

      Unless you have high enough confidence that you know a wall height that will cover any future tsunami

      I don't have to. "Credible events" remember? We're not speaking of nearby asteroid impacts or other sources of vastly bigger tsunami which might have frequencies of once every few million years. There's a limit to how big the tsunami that an earthquake can generate.

      and have considered every possible failure of that wall to function properly

      Same.

    51. Re:Not smart business by khallow · · Score: 1

      OK, if YOU want to play semantics and make the wall part of the "plant", then you must describe the event and the design for the event appropriately. In this case, the event is a massive tsunami breaching the wall. The design basis of the plant did not consider a massive tsunami breach of the wall a credible event. The "reactor building and associated structures" were not properly designed to handle this event. The entire "plant" was sited in place where this event could happen.

      The massive tsunami didn't breach the wall, it overtopped it. Words have meaning.

      And since the designers didn't consider overtopping the seawall to be a credible event, then by your logic, why should they design for it?

      Had the entire plant properly considered the event, and designed for it using common nuclear safety practices, they would have hardened the "reactor and associated structures", flood proofed, raised generators and fuel supplies, added contingency fuel supplies to extend emergency diesel run time to account for lack of accessibility, added sealed doors in other locations and procedural requirements to keep flood doors closed, and a ton of other things. Then THAT would have resulted in certainly of not only nuclear safety but also generally saving the asset from tremendous remediation costs. That would have been quite acceptable.

      And that's something that we can do now that we know that overtopping is a problem. That's the difference between learning from experience and merely deciding never to do something at a location because something preventable happened there.

    52. Re:Not smart business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      re: break....You know what I meant, the wall did not prevent the tsunami from hitting the "reactor building and associated structures", which is the problem.

      And since the designers didn't consider overtopping the seawall to be a credible event, then by your logic, why should they design for it?

      They didn't design for it BECAUSE they didn't consider it a credible event, which is exactly where I started. They should have considering the siting of the plant, and that is the central problem.

      Experience should tell us that we should not depend on the wall to prevent a tsunami from hitting the "reactor building and associated structures", that we should consider it a credible event and either design the "reactor building and associated structures" for it using nuclear safety design principals or put the plant where it can't happen. The latter is much easier and less expensive.

    53. Re:Not smart business by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      I was reading the links you provided colordev, however the ft link is paywalled. Do you have another link or a paste so I can read it please?

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  5. Damn the satellite was a good laptop line by Master5000 · · Score: 0

    I had a Satellite for many years. Now I have a 2013 Qosmio that was one of the most powerful gaming laptops in 2013 and one of the cheapest. They stopped with consumer laptops last year. Now they are going down. Sad face...

  6. It's a butterfly on the shoulders of a giant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Media just likes to blow things out of proportion as usual. Toshiba is doing fine, and will keep doing fine.

  7. Serves them right by nanospook · · Score: 1

    See what happens when you fsck with the alt-f4 keyboard mapping?

    --
    Have you fscked your local propeller head today?
  8. They can still turn it around by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They just need to go bankrupt a few times and start bragging about groping women without their consent. They could be the next emperor of Japan.

    1. Re: They can still turn it around by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd be banging models left and right too. Most of us would.

  9. this should have been a huge red flag. by nimbius · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    shale gas based power plants and renewables have absolutely crushed industries like nuclear in the last 10 years. Toshiba was utterly foolish to make this purchase without considering the fact that nuclear power plants are inexorably more expensive to build, maintain, and operate than other energy systems. nuclear plants spend months offline for maintenance and reconditioning, and take months more to fully go online. Not to mention the fact that a failure at a gas power plant is generally not going to render the surrounding states uninhabitable for a thousand years.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:this should have been a huge red flag. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      nuclear plants spend months offline for maintenance and reconditioning, and take months more to fully go online. .

      Wow, how clearly wrong. Nuclear plants have the highest capacity factor of any other source, around 90% availability. They only shut down for short periods for refueling and maintenance, and this is scheduled for low electricity demand windows in the spring and fall.

      Yes, shale gas has made other sources less profitable and challenging, and renewable market subsidies have exacerbated pricing challenges. But some states are started to realize that nuclear's societal cost is much lower when you consider the high number of well paying jobs and tax revenue it generates.

    2. Re:this should have been a huge red flag. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Not to mention the fact that a failure at a gas power plant is generally not going to render the surrounding states uninhabitable for a thousand years.

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

      *cough cough*

      It's such a shame that anti-nuke hysteria won out over a fact-based understanding of the risks and hazards of all power generation methods. Oh, well.

    3. Re:this should have been a huge red flag. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Toshiba was utterly foolish to make this purchase without considering the fact that nuclear power plants are inexorably more expensive...

      You do realise this isn't Toshiba the manufacturer of your DVD player but Toshiba the parent of Westinghouse the worlds second largest nuclear construction and engineering form and the worlds largest nuclear operator and service supplier right?

      I'm sure they have no idea about the economics of the nuclear industry and they are lucky to have your incredible vision to guide them.

    4. Re:this should have been a huge red flag. by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      A CANDU reactor can be refueled without being put offline.

  10. No loss if they go under by cellocgw · · Score: 1

    Bleep the whole bleeping company. Absolutely the worst customer service for retail products I've ever run across. If only I'd read some of the forum columns about their refusal to honor warranties before I'd bought a TV set, I could have saved myself a lot of pain.

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  11. I wish I could lose $3.9B in one year by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    N/M.

  12. Toshiba's semi by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Whatever happened to their semiconductor business? I recall a time they used to fab MIPS R4600 CPUs

  13. Wrong. by confused+one · · Score: 2

    Wow. OK, And you're modded "insightful" Toshiba (Westinghouse) has decades of experience in the nuclear industry. Their Westinghouse division is one of the oldest players. I'm certain they understand the costs quite well. What you're seeing here is something else (accounting or engineering controls issues at the company they purchased, perhaps) Reactors only go down for months at a time when something major needs to be replaced. Steam generators. Turbines. entire cooling towers. Same is true of any coal, petroleum, gas, or biomass fired steam boiler. So, to be clear, if you have to overhaul the turbine(s) on your gas fired plant, it's going to be down for a couple of months. Refueling a reactor takes a couple of weeks, a significant chunk of which is waiting for the core to cool off due to decay heat, and bringing the core safely back up to operating temperature afterwards. Uh, uninhabitable for thousands of years? I think you're exaggerating a bit.

    1. Re:Wrong. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sure that's very reassuring to the people that lived around Chernobyle. One mistake a gabs-fired power plant doesn't cost $ trillions and leave the area uninhabitable for thousands of years.

    2. Re:Wrong. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oops! I must have been thinking about Washington DC and substituted "gabs" for "gas". My bad!

  14. Buy, Mortimer, buy!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    These are bargain prices, Mortimer!

  15. Toshiba by amoeba1911 · · Score: 1

    Toshiba is still in business? What business are they in? I've not seen a Toshiba product in the past decade.

    1. Re:Toshiba by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      I think they still manufacture Flash and hard disks.

  16. Real reason the nuclear power is a failure. . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but once built the plant can run for 80 to 100 years and pay for itself many times over

    In the context of the price of Solar consistently continuing to drop (17% in 2016, alone), your statement is testament to why nuclear power is failing. . .

    Proponents of nuclear power are fucking retarded when it comes to finance. . . Power generation is like the computer industry now. Who the fuck would buy a computer to recoup the cost over 80~100 fucking years!!!?? Power generation is going from a resource driven activity to a manufacturing driven one. Manufacturing technology improves exponentially. Fucking wake up, already. It is no longer about grid parity but god parity (so RIP centralized generation).

    At this point, it is clear the nuclear power industry is doomed. My main concern is what to do with all the fanboy dumb asses who will not be able to support themselves due to retarded investment decisions. The only thing this industry will leave behind is waste, both the radioactive kind and the human kind. . .

    1. Re:Real reason the nuclear power is a failure. . . by HornWumpus · · Score: 0

      All manufacturing technology improves exponentially? (forever)

      Moron.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    2. Re:Real reason the nuclear power is a failure. . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What point do you think you're making, dipshit? You're basically demonstrating you can't face the comment so you have to derp about something irrelevant. If you're going to talk about "forever ever", then nothing makes a difference, it's all the heat death of the universe. So kill yourself already and stop stinking up the place.

    3. Re:Real reason the nuclear power is a failure. . . by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      All I've heard about nuclear so far is that it typically repays the cost to build it in 5 years. Which rather curiously is about as long as it takes to build a reactor.

  17. not an accounting scandal by slashmydots · · Score: 1

    They stopped their entire direct resale and direct consumer sales program and their C50-55 satellite computers are absolute garbage. Like on par with HP garbage. Those are the real 2 reasons they're tanking right now.

  18. Human nature by MrKaos · · Score: 1

    How do you stop the next Fukashima from happening?

    First by understanding what went wrong, I'm not sure why.

    Let me help you with these parts.

    The reactors that were in service there all suffered from design flaws, referred to as a 'Design Basis Issues'. They work around these issues by have operational and implementation processes so that suffering an accident from that flaw can be avoided. This requires strict adherence to the manufactuer and implementing the support systems the reactor requires.

    In the case of the Fukushima reactors the American Society of Mechanical Engineers found two flaws, the pressure vessel itself leaked above 70psi and the gate pair seal for the spent fuel cooling pools would start to leak.

    The reactor was rated to the ground acceleration it experienced. At issue was that TEPCO did not adhere to the recommendations for operating these reactors that *must* always have power supplied to them so as not to expose these issues.

    Without power to run the cooling pumps the water in the reactor started to get hot, then boil.

    Loss of power to the backup cooling would initiate these events because a loss of cooling (Accident) would cause the reactor core to heat and begin to produce hydrogen. The pressure would build and thus the reactor start to leak hydrogen above 70 psi. The same thing would happen in the cooling pool because of the leaking gate pair seals, with less water to cool the spent fuel, they too started heat, boil and produce hydrogen outside of the reactor.

    Zirconium, when hot enough, will burn in water. This burning water and zirconium releases hydrogen gas.

    When the moderator is gone and the fuel rods get thermally and radioactively hot it initiates a thing called a 'plutonium fire'. This was the main motivation for emptying the unit 4 pool as it was unstable and its foundations had sunk an additional 30 inches into the ground. Fortunately this has recently been completed.

    When hot enough to melt zirconium and steel the fuel can lose containment, pile up on the bottom of the vessel, and fission can restart. This makes it hotter.

    Let us call this what it is: a 'meltdown'.

    So, how do we keep this from happening?

    We should be concerning ourselves how to ensure improvements to the existing Nuclear Industry are implemented. We have seen examples of the professionals in organizations like the NRC who can indentify and design improvements that manifest in regulation however, as we can see in the official report, TEPCO colluded to *prevent* these improvements from occurring.

    Some of TEPCO's board has been charged with negligence because of the criminal negligence of the board of TEPCO. They colluded with the regulator and put everyone's safety at risk. It makes me think of that story about the guy putting the cruise control on the Winnebago and then stepping into the back to make himself a coffee just before the vehicle drove itself off an embankment. It's a close analogy the only difference is that TEPCO understood what the risks were. They read the owners manual, so to speak, they didn't want to spend the money because they believed it wasn't required.

    At issue is if human beings are able to operate them safely. Chernobyl and Fukushima both failed because of how they were being managed and it is these types of organizational failures that have caused these disasters. The hubris of the operators caused the destruction of the communities that surround them.

    No matter what reactor technology is being used it seems we haven't been able to avoid this characteristic of human nature as Fukushima shows that the nuclear industry learned nothing from Chernobyl.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    1. Re:Human nature by blindseer · · Score: 1

      Let me help you with these parts.

      Thank you for adding detail to my description.

      No matter what reactor technology is being used it seems we haven't been able to avoid this characteristic of human nature as Fukushima shows that the nuclear industry learned nothing from Chernobyl.

      I do not believe it is fair to say the industry learned nothing from Chernobyl. You can say the lessons learned were not implemented. You can say the wrong lessons were learned. The industry knows what went wrong but there are a lot of reasons why we are still at much higher risk than we should from a nuclear accident.

      The hubris of the operators caused the destruction of the communities that surround them.

      TEPCO was overconfident in their ability to prevent a meltdown. I have little doubt that they saw additional safety measures that were ordered by the government, but never implemented, as unnecessary. I'm even reluctant to call this an "accident" since there were so many warning signs and plenty of time to prevent this. No doubt the triple redundant systems made them confident in the power plant's safety, they just neglected to consider a common failure mode to them all.

      What would have likely saved the plant was to *NOT* shutdown the reactor as they did. When the automated control systems detected a seismic event the control rods were inserted fully, which meant all fission stopped and made restart much more difficult. With the reactor shutdown, generators flooded, power lines washed out, and limited battery power, they had no way to restart the reactor and regain power. One lesson I hope the industry has learned is to reduce power in such an event, had that been done it is quite possible the meltdown could have been prevented and an orderly shutdown performed. I'm not saying this is certain, only that is what I gathered from the assessments of the reports I've read.

      We should be concerning ourselves how to ensure improvements to the existing Nuclear Industry are implemented.

      I agree that the process by which we license, regulate, and oversee the nuclear power industry does need improvement, but I'm not sure we would agree in what improvements need to be made.

      A problem I see is that the governments in Japan and USA are very reluctant to allow new reactors to be built. I don't want to see modifications made to 40 year old reactors. I want to see new reactors get built so these old reactors can be retired. In the USA we are seeing operating licenses for reactors getting extended again and again just so we don't see the lights go out. This is insane. If we see anything like this in the USA in the near future the blame should rest solely on the NRC for not issuing licenses for new reactors for 40 years. Many of the reactors now operating will be 80 years old before they are allowed to shut down. Again, this is INSANE! If we want to see safe nuclear reactors then we need to see continuous construction. As long as we keep building them we keep experienced technicians and engineers in the industry, and we keep training new ones to replace them as they retire. This also means that old reactors with known issues, like not being able to shutdown safely after a power loss, can be retired as new designs that lack these flaws are built.

      Let's also make one thing clear, even with the Fukushima and Chernobyl meltdowns nuclear power is the safest energy source we know how to build. The "death print" of nuclear power is lower than coal, oil, and natural gas by a huge margin. Nuclear power is even safer than wind and solar by an order of magnitude. Also, the carbon footprint of nuclear power is lower than solar and wind. Even as flawed as they are the reactors we have running now are extremely safe. We can also make them safer. By making them safer we can also reduce the costs to build and operate them. People have been begging the federal government to bu

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    2. Re:Human nature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fukushima shows that the nuclear industry learned nothing from Chernobyl.

      That displays your ignorance of the fundamental differences between the two events. Chernobyl was a case of intentionally defeating safety systems and intentionally operating the plant in way that violated procedures and the design envelope. Fukushima was a case of siting a plant where it could be hit by a tsunami when it wasn't designed to withstand one. (all those anecdotal issue become irrelevant if you simply don't have a tsunami hitting the plant).

      Fukushima is also a much much smaller accident when it comes to release than Chernobyl. We learned that containment systems are critical for these types of reactors, (something already being implemented in most designs), and that proved to be very beneficial at Fukushima.

    3. Re:Human nature by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      Thank you for adding detail to my description.

      You're welcome.

      I do not believe it is fair to say the industry learned nothing from Chernobyl. You can say the lessons learned were not implemented. You can say the wrong lessons were learned.

      We can say, from what we know, is that TEPCO willfully ignored known lessons and colluded with the government regulator to prevent regulation being created. Therefore it is charitable to say the nuclear industry learned nothing.

      You can say it was criminal negligence and that would be an assessment closer to reality. After all the operators of Davis-Besse were charged with criminal offenses so I believe it's fair the board of TEPCO should too for causing an INES level 7 event.

      TEPCO was overconfident in their ability to prevent a meltdown. I have little doubt that they saw additional safety measures that were ordered by the government, but never implemented, as unnecessary.

      We can say it's Nonfeasance that accurately describes the nature of TEPCO criminal negligence.

      What would have likely saved the plant was to *NOT* shutdown the reactor as they did.

      Unfortunately TEPCO also neglected to make improvements to the sea wall precluding that option to themselves and effectively neutering the triple redundancy you speak of.

      One lesson I hope the industry has learned is to reduce power in such an event

      Unfortunately doing so would reduce nuclear powers capacity factor significantly making nuclear power pointless.

      I'm not saying this is certain, only that is what I gathered from the assessments of the reports I've read.

      Please share them.

      I agree that the process by which we license, regulate, and oversee the nuclear power industry does need improvement, but I'm not sure we would agree in what improvements need to be made.

      I'm satisfied that regulators and industry can make the right findings, what is clear is that the nuclear industry is unwilling to apply them and that any attempt to compel a board to comply and produce safety improvements can be subverted. It is human nature.

      Let's also make one thing clear, even with the Fukushima and Chernobyl meltdowns nuclear power is the safest energy source we know how to build.

      I believe it is INSANE to point at those two reactor facilities and claim nuclear power is safe. What it shows is that the organizational systems that we have created are simply too prone to corruption to be trusted to run nuclear power stations. Maybe we need to step back from nuclear, not permanently, look at the industry as a whole and redesign it. Take a focused look at the waste storage issue, solve that, decommission a bunch of old reactors and figure out what infrastructure is required to operate nuclear sustainably.

      Nuclear power is even safer than wind and solar by an order of magnitude.

      Alternatively we don't understand the full consequences of the nuclear industry yet.

      It's a lot easier to conceptualize a person falling off their solar roof than to conceptualize the long term consequences of large scale industrial releases of radionuclides into the environment. It's fair to say that the nuclear PR machine plays on this which is why people don't trust those sorts of claims, people notice the inconsistencies amongst the motherhood statements and look for the gotcha.

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    4. Re:Human nature by khallow · · Score: 1

      We can say, from what we know, is that TEPCO willfully ignored known lessons and colluded with the government regulator to prevent regulation being created. Therefore it is charitable to say the nuclear industry learned nothing.

      We also know that this collusion was irrelevant to the Fukushima accident. We also know that collusion with regulators wasn't the cause of the accident at Chernobyl either. So no, "learned nothing" is an empty assertion.

      Unfortunately TEPCO also neglected to make improvements to the sea wall precluding that option to themselves and effectively neutering the triple redundancy you speak of.

      What neglect? The research that indicated this was a problem was done in 2001. The regulatory agency didn't get around to determining that was something to look at until around 2006 and TEPCO did the research a couple years later which I gather concluded that that the Fukushima sea wall was too low for a 1 in 500 year tsunami (IIRC). Which was kind of irrelevant in that the plant was originally going to be decommissioned starting in 2011. Seriously, step through this time line, keeping in mind that both they didn't have access to your amazing powers of hindsight and nuclear power decision making is very conservative and deliberate, precisely because hasty, impromptu decision making is considered extremely negligent.

      I believe it is INSANE to point at those two reactor facilities and claim nuclear power is safe. What it shows is that the organizational systems that we have created are simply too prone to corruption to be trusted to run nuclear power stations. Maybe we need to step back from nuclear, not permanently, look at the industry as a whole and redesign it. Take a focused look at the waste storage issue, solve that, decommission a bunch of old reactors and figure out what infrastructure is required to operate nuclear sustainably.

      Which just shows how little thought you put into your beliefs. Rare, infrequent accidents that just aren't that dangerous are far less harmful than the frequent, lethal accidents that plague most forms of power generation.

      Alternatively we don't understand the full consequences of the nuclear industry yet.

      It's a lot easier to conceptualize a person falling off their solar roof than to conceptualize the long term consequences of large scale industrial releases of radionuclides into the environment. It's fair to say that the nuclear PR machine plays on this which is why people don't trust those sorts of claims, people notice the inconsistencies amongst the motherhood statements and look for the gotcha.

      Your observation is irrelevant since we can conceptualize "large scale industrial releases of radionuclides" even if it is a little bit harder than the idea of people falling off of roofs. More importantly, we can actually observe multiple such releases. They just haven't been that bad. The primary conclusion has been that you find more incidents of cancer if you look for it, than if you don't. World-shattering stuff that.

    5. Re:Human nature by blindseer · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately doing so would reduce nuclear powers capacity factor significantly making nuclear power pointless.

      No, it would increase capacity factor because right now the standard response is a shutdown. If the power is reduced, instead of eliminated, the reactor itself can provide the power needed for cooling. Also, if kept running the fission will "eat" some of the fission products which means that if a shutdown is called for later then there is less cooling required due to there being less fission products in the core.

      I believe it is INSANE to point at those two reactor facilities and claim nuclear power is safe.

      Sure, if you look at only those two then nuclear power does not look very safe. If you compare this to the hundreds of nuclear reactors that didn't fail then it does look very safe.

      Maybe we need to step back from nuclear, not permanently, look at the industry as a whole and redesign it.

      Stepping away from nuclear power means using energy sources that are demonstrably dirtier, less safe, and with a larger carbon footprint. We got into this mess precisely because we "stepped away" from it. Had we kept building them then those failed reactors in Japan would have been decommissioned years before the tsunami hit.

      Alternatively we don't understand the full consequences of the nuclear industry yet.

      We do know what happens if we abandon nuclear power. Just look around at what happens. People turn to burning oil and brown coal. The issues of nuclear waste have been solved but politics prevent addressing them responsibly.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    6. Re:Human nature by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      Fukushima shows that the nuclear industry learned nothing from Chernobyl.

      That displays your ignorance of the fundamental differences between the two events.

      Or your failure to comprehend them properly.

      Chernobyl was a case of intentionally defeating safety systems and intentionally operating the plant in way that violated procedures and the design envelope. Fukushima was a case of

      intentionally not operating the plant in a way that it would remain in its design basis.

      of siting a plant where it could be hit by a tsunami when it wasn't designed to withstand one. (all those anecdotal issue become irrelevant if you simply don't have a tsunami hitting the plant).

      You mean, carving away 25-30 metres of the hillside to bring the whole facility closer to the water, then not having an adequate sea wall to protect the reactor they sited there.

      Fukushima is also a much much smaller accident when it comes to release than Chernobyl. We learned that containment systems are critical for these types of reactors, (something already being implemented in most designs), and that proved to be very beneficial at Fukushima.

      Both accidents are INES 7 rated accidents, just for different reasons.

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    7. Re:Human nature by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      No, it would increase capacity factor because right now the standard response is a shutdown. If the power is reduced, instead of eliminated, the reactor itself can provide the power needed for cooling.

      During an earthquake and Tsunami - that is insane idea. We are only discussing this as an option because of Fukushima and they may have had this option *IF* the seawall was protecting the reactor from flooding and damage. So this option wasn't available to Fukushima operators.

      However, proposing running reactors at less than their full capacity is something I agree with, especially for older reactors like Fukushima. I've considered the same thing via an independant authority that approves the output of a reactor after inspections so that it is certified to run at that capacity. I believe this is how NP subs are certified for the depths they operate at. So in that regard, it's a good idea and I agree that it would reduce the severity of accidents.

      However doing so will reduce their return on investment over time as they are running at some fraction, say 2/3's of their output capacity and I just can't see a board running a reactor facility at anything less than its full available output or without it making a lot of financial sense. So Capacity Factor would go up by reducing output capacity, and it would not be a fix for LOCA, just loss of power - which should never happen.

      Sure, if you look at only those two then nuclear power does not look very safe. If you compare this to the hundreds of nuclear reactors that didn't fail then it does look very safe.

      I think communities look at what happen to Fukushima, Chernobyl and places like Lake Karachy and realize that it is a threat they may face.

      Had we kept building them then those failed reactors in Japan would have been decommissioned years before the tsunami hit.

      I think they would run the reactors to the very end of their service life to squeeze every bit of return out of the capital expenditure that they can.

      We do know what happens if we abandon nuclear power. Just look around at what happens. People turn to burning oil and brown coal.

      They also turn to wind, solar, geothermal and wave power and these are proving that they can replace NP with a better ROI and scalability. That doesn't mean nuclear is going away however maybe it's role is baseload only.

      The issues of nuclear waste have been solved but politics prevent addressing them responsibly.

      Breeders exacerbate the problem of nuclear waste. Burners resolve it however the technology need materials technology advancements. Currently IFR style is the best burner reactor option however the oil and coal industry have lobbied heavily to destroy the technology that was prototyped and tested because it takes their market (produces electricity and hydrogen).

      Other solutions use granite mines lined with bentonite clays to stop ground water contamination, which is what Yucca *should* be. Other solutions are on the drawing board however it is far from being solved.

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    8. Re:Human nature by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      Incidentally, what is you position on nuclear disarmament?

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    9. Re:Human nature by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      We also know that this collusion was irrelevant to the Fukushima accident. We also know that collusion with regulators wasn't the cause of the accident at Chernobyl either. So no, "learned nothing" is an empty assertion.

      Your opinion differs from the official report which states the nuclear industry "managed to avoid absorbing the critical lessons learned from Three Mile Island and Chernobyl" so, yes, it's an accurate assertion. Organizational failures led to the accident in both cases.

      What neglect?

      Cited from the official report "NISA’s failure to demand action, and TEPCO’s failure to act, together constitute negligence which led to the accident.", that neglect.

      The research that indicated this was a problem was done in 2001. Which was kind of irrelevant in that the plant was originally going to be decommissioned starting in 2011.

      A claim that you have consistently made with no evidence to support it, expecially considering the fact that Unit four was off-line for maintenance and refueling. I've searched for evidence to support your claim and found none.

      Seriously, step through this time line, nuclear power decision making is very conservative and deliberate, precisely because hasty, impromptu decision making is considered extremely negligent.

      I did, it's a full quarter of the time the facility has existed. Taking 10 years to not make decisions that would protect the facility is the nonfeasance that constitutes the neglect the commission is referring to.

      They just haven't been that bad.

      I think the people who have been evacuated from their homes and communities that pre-dated the plant would disagree. Perhaps the destruction of these communities is meaningless in the pursuit of nuclear power, as long as no one diea, it's ok to ruin their communities.

      I see you are finally accepting the seawall and backup generator issues though I note your original prediction that the cleanup would cost $10 billion at odds with the Japanese Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry estimate it will be around $200 billion, so far.

      Personally, I'd be really sad if the beautiful place I live was decimated by an accident like that, maybe that's not something you can relate to.

      keeping in mind that both they didn't have access to your amazing powers of hindsight

      Your ad homs are meaningless, they show me you have no argument.

      Considering my assertions are similar to the conclusions the official report made, nine months later after examining the evidence the word you are looking for is insight.

      Like Chernobyl, TEPCO did something stupid and placed the backup generators where they would be vulnerable to flooding and then failed to improve the seawall protection when new conclusions about tsunami risk was assessed, they had the hindsight of many professionals to draw on, TEPCO just ignored them.

      Even your own criteria of "don't do something stupid" was met to agree that Fukushima shows that the Nuclear Industry learned nothing from Chernobyl.

      I'm happy to say that it looks like Fukushima has finally turned a corner with the removal of the spent fuel rods from the spent fuel cooling pool no longer threatening the northern hemisphere with the fall out from a plutonium fire. I am certain that a restart of the Japanese nuclear industry is being considered. Lets hope this is something you can tell me I was wrong about.

      The primary conclusion has been:

      It is simple to look through you previous posts how many conclusions you were wrong about on this matter because of the conclusions you don't accept. Dogmatically skeptical, you transpose your idealism of nuclear power onto reality with as much zealotry as a religious fanatic. Social proof isn't proof and your "arguments" haven't held up to facts that we have learned about Fukushima.

      Fukushima shows that the Nuclear Industry learned nothing from Chernobyl.

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.