[LMB] OT: Sad link of the day

[Harimad]

The Chernobyl experiments weren't unauthorized.  It was part of The
Plan.  That The Plan, which included testing safety systems by
removing all but one then testing that one to destruction, was a bad
idea should have been obvious at the time.  Maybe it was - the Soviet
system wasn't one that encouraged such input.

Old Soviet joke: a diplomat is driving down Moscow's wide and (then)
empty streets.  He sees two men at work in the grassy median, one
digging a large hole, the other filling it in.  He asks them what
they're doing.  "We're planing trees," they reply.  "Trees??" asks
the diplomat.  "Yes," one says, "The guy who puts the trees into the
holes is sick today."  

The funny thing about reactor design is the Soviets (and now the
Russians) excel at primary research and design.  But when it comes to
putting it into practice - terrible.  Long-term cost, danger, and
risk to environment weren't considered.  

A terrible irony is that the post-Chernobyl measures made Soviet
nuclear power LESS safe.  All new construction was halted, the result
being that unsafe reactors weren't being replaced with the newer,
safer designs.

I have PBS shows on Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.  Watching them
back to back is a real education.  There's no comparison between the
two.  One is a screwup with no long-term detrimental effects and the
added advantage of highlighting all the communications problems that
could happen.  The other was a disaster of epic proportions that was
saved, by act of God or nature, from being one of biblical
proportions.

- Harimad


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ