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Why I am not worried about Japan's nuclear reactors. | Morgsatlarge - blogorific.

I know this is a fairly full on statement from someone posting his very first blog. It will also be far and away the most well written, intelligent post I ever make (I hope!) It also means I am not responsible for its content.

This post is by Dr Josef Oehmen, a research scientist at MIT, in Boston.

He is a PhD Scientist, whose father has extensive experience in Germany's nuclear industry. I asked him to write this information to my family in Australia, who were being made sick with worry by the media reports coming from Japan. I am republishing it with his permission.

It is a few hours old, so if any information is out of date, blame me for the delay in getting it published.

If you would like to contact Josef, please email me at morgsatlarge@yahoo.com.au

This is his text in full and unedited. It is very long, so get comfy.



Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Mar 13th, 2011 at 08:27:42 AM EST
It fits with the data, sounds right, and is rather comprehensive.

Wind power
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sun Mar 13th, 2011 at 12:32:26 PM EST
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by das monde on Mon Mar 14th, 2011 at 01:05:28 AM EST
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Groklaw - Digging for Truth
I did not want to do this, because it is laborious, but here goes:
He is a PhD Scientist, whose father has extensive experience in Germany's nuclear industry.
No mention of HIS field of expertise, so we should immediately be suspicious.
I should have though of this, and, Who Could Have Predicted?

Oehmen, Josef - Lean Advancement Initiative

The main research interest of Dr. Josef Oehmen is risk management in the value chain, with a special focus on lean product development. Risk management allows companies to design and achieve the optimal risk-return balance in their portfolio of activities, successfully take entrepreneurial risks, increase their performance, and focus their attention on where it is needed most.

...

Josef worked as Assistant to the CTO of SIG Holding AG and in parallel pursued an international MBA at the Collège des Ingénieurs in Paris. He was intensely involved in corporate-wide Technology and Innovation Management and was responsible for technology projects. He studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Munich, majoring in Product Development and Production Management. He wrote his diploma thesis at LAI on Risk Management in Product Development. Josef's list of publications can be found here.



So, in what may be my last act of "advising", I'll advise you to cut the jargon. -- My old PhD advisor, to me, 26/2/11
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Mar 14th, 2011 at 10:14:06 AM EST
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This is reassuring. I needed this level of explanation to be satisfied that things will probably work out without any serious release of radiation. It would be nice if some of the other information on this type of reactor had details on the "core catcher" feature he describes. But, perhaps GE did not want to raise the issue of containment of a meltdown for fear that it would cause people to think about a meltdown. But when government officials are discussing meltdowns in process it is certainly time for such an explanation to be widely disseminated.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Mar 13th, 2011 at 10:10:13 PM EST
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I bet these reactors don't have core catchers. The EPR has a core catcher, which it claims an innovation.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
by Starvid on Mon Mar 14th, 2011 at 12:12:57 PM EST
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