'Floating Chernobyls' to hit the high seas

[Francesca9]

Source: Telegraph (UK)

China and Russia agreed to expand co-operation over nuclear power, specifically on uranium exploration and safer power plants – but also on floating nuclear reactors.

"It's a case of Homer Simpson meets the Titanic," says Ben Ayliffe, a senior climate campaigner at Greenpeace. "The idea is just mind-boggling."

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/7982927/Floating-Chernobyls-to-hit-the-high-seas.html

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The idea is to be able to sell these all around the earth ... "big interest from foreign customers – especially in developing nations".



Be the first one on your block -

to have a nuke tied up to your dock.

[watajob]

1. Lovely...

... fissile materials floating around the world in an unhardened vessel with no obvious defense against attack. What could possibly go wrong?!

[Heywood J]

2. Ah, the easy potential for theft.

Don't forget how much the lines will sway and tug in inclement weather. A boat can't ignore the sea it sits on, and it wouldn't take much to bring the phases close to each other, the towers, the dock, or the sides of the boat.

[valerief]

3. Why does real news sound more and more like the Onion? nt

[NickB79]

4. How long have we had nuclear-powered ships and submarines?

How is this different than the HUNDREDS of nuclear aircraft carriers, cruisers, and submarines we've had sailing on the seas for 40+ years now?

How many of those have suffered a reactor melt-down?

This is nothing but scare-mongering on Greenpeace's part.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. Well the Russians...

Do not have a good record with nuke subs

[sulphurdunn]

6. And I'm sure their nuclear reactors

will be build to the same rigorous standards. I'm also pretty sure they'll be much, much larger than the reactors on submarines.

[madokie]

9. No comparison with a Navy nuclear powered ship and a nuclear power station

big enough to power a city or a small country run by greedy people who are only wanting to squeeze as much money as they can out of one. Yup no comparisons at all. I was in the navy and the way they run things and the way civilians run things is two entirely different things.
Oh and how much do you actually think you know about any mishaps in any of the Navys nuclear powered ships or submarines, I'll give you a clue. NOTHING, nothing at all.

[unkachuck]

7. "...nuclear energy can be used in the energy-intensive desalination of water..."

....I'm sure Russian/Chinese modern nuclear technology will produce safe electricity....at least someone is responding and considering future third-world energy demand....

....we're just jealous, probably because our domestic manufacturers (if there are any) can't compete or that we'd have to approach the Chinese if we wanted something similar manufactured for sale....

....look at it from a positive perspective; should the unit start melting down, all you would have to do is pull the drain plug on the barge to cool it....

[madokie]

10. And you believe that?

That scares me right there.

[davepc]

8. I guess that makes the US carrier and submarine fleet "floating 3 mile islands"

scaremongering is awesome.

Fun fact about the world nuclear powered Naval fleet:

Some 140 ships are powered by more than 180 small nuclear reactors and more than 12,000 reactor years of marine operation has been accumulated.

[tavalon]

11. Floating Nuclear Reactors

If I could get my chin up off the floor, I would laugh. It would be that "I'm seconds away from losing my mind" laughing, but whatever.

Floating Nuclear Reactors? Really?

[davepc]

12. Who would come up with such a crazy idea?