the ways we know the fuel rods in these reactors in japan have been damaged, the signs it has happened frankly are all bad signs, but they re also pretty definitive, and more information is better than less information in a situation like this, okay? first, the hydrogen explosions at these reactors, these are a sign that hydrogen was released as a by-product of the fuel rods breaking down, so that s one sign that the fuel rods are breaking down. those hydrogen explosions. also, the radioactivity they can detect in the air. that is also a sign that the fuel rods are breaking down. they re breaking down thenary s releasing radioactive particles from their radioactive fuel into the environment. those are signs that tell us the fuel rods are breaking down. but they do not tell us how much the fuel rods have been breaking down. remember, there s a difference between some meltdown and a total meltdown.
thanks for being here. tell me what i got wrong in the explanation. the one thing i guess i would differ on is probably it wouldn t go all the way to meltdown in the pool, but it doesn t matter because long before that the volatile radioactivity would have been driven off by the heat. you don t need to go to meltdown to release the radioactivity we are concerned for the environment. just the damage to the fuel rods that could happen just by them being exposed to the air is enough to release radioactivity, that is the worst case. the planning around the uranium pellets, the tubes, would burst. at that point the heat would drive off the boiling point of the elements we are worried about is much below the temperature of the fuel we have at that point would drive it off into the atmosphere.
guess i would differ on is probably it wouldn t go all the way to a meltdown in the pool. but it doesn t matter because the long before that, the volatile radioactivity would have been driven off by the heat. you don t need to go to a meltdown to release the radioactivity that we are concerned for the environment. so just the damage to the fuel rods which could happen just by them being exposed to the air is enough to release radioactivity, that is the worst case. the cladding around the uranium pellets, these metal zirconium tubes would burst. and at that point the heat would drive off these the boiling point of these elements that we re worried about is much below the temperature of the fuel would have at that point would drive it off into the atmosphere. and the other thing is that, in fact, it s more than a crack in the roof of this facility. they are big holes in the walls, have been blown by that hydrogen
tell me what i got wrong in the explanation. the one thing i guess i would differ on is probably it wouldn t go all the way to meltdown in the pool, but it doesn t matter because long before that the volatile radioactivity would have been driven off by the heat. you don t need to go to meltdown to release the radioactivity we are concerned for the environment. just the damage to the fuel rods that could happen just by them being exposed to the air is enough to release radioactivity, that is the worst case. the planning around the uranium pellets, the tubes, would burst. at that point the heat would drive off the boiling point of the elements we are worried about is much below the temperature of the fuel we have at that point would drive it off into the atmosphere. and the other thing is that in
if those tubes are exposed to the air, the metal oxidizes and starts to breakdown. it is like the idea of rusting, it is not rusting, it is oxidi seepation. if the bottom of your car looks like this, like mine does, you worry about whether you have to replace it, whether you need framework done, or whether you need a new car. rust. sir cone yum doesn t rust but it does objection diez when exposed to air. the combination of heat and the objection did iization, it is like super fast rusting. exposing those fuel rods to the air causes that. it is like super fast rusting on steroids and that s trouble.