China’s rail disaster – a prelude to nuclear disaster?

[bananas]

http://nuclear-news.net/2011/07/30/chinas-rail-disaster-a-prelude-to-nuclear-disaster/

China’s rail disaster – a prelude to nuclear disaster?

The breadth of Chinese ambitions to indigenize foreign technologies and scale them for mass deployment has simply outpaced its ability to plan, operate and staff these complex undertakings in a safe and sustainable manner. This is true in the case of high-speed rail, and it threatens to become the overarching storyline for the country’s nuclear energy program.

Wenzhou Train Crash Highlights Risks of China’s Nuclear Program Epoch Times, July 29, 2011 by ML COULD A TECHNOLOGY mishap akin to Saturday’s deadly train crash near Wenzhou, China happen at one of China’s 40 operating or planned nuclear power reactors?….. Experts are attributing China’s high-speed rail woes to its policies of adapting foreign technologies without the means to adequately operate and maintain them.

The risky strategy isn’t just being used by China’s Ministry of Railways, it’s also the foundation of the country’s nuclear power program.

Kevin Jianjun Tu and David Livingston warn in a Jamestown Foundation report:

The accident is a “canary in the coal mine”, as it were, for a much larger structural challenge facing China. The breadth of Chinese ambitions to indigenize foreign technologies and scale them for mass deployment has simply outpaced its ability to plan, operate and staff these complex undertakings in a safe and sustainable manner. This is true in the case of high-speed rail, and it threatens to become the overarching storyline for the country’s nuclear energy program.

<snip>

[GliderGuider]

1. There's a lesson in there for the whole world.

To paraphrase:

The breadth of human ambitions to develop extremely complex technologies and scale them for mass deployment has simply outpaced our ability to plan, operate and staff these complex undertakings in a safe and sustainable manner. This is true in the case of nuclear power, and it threatens to become the overarching storyline for our entire complex global industrial civilization."

[otohara]

2. Crazy How They Buried The Train, Then Dug It Up

to check out what happened.

Duh...

[msongs]

3. trains crash everywhere time to time. it's the cover ups that are trouble nt

[kristopher]

4. The strong tradition of graft in China is alive and well...

19 November 2010 Last updated at 03:19 ET

Former China nuclear head jailed for life over bribes

The former head of China's main nuclear energy company has been jailed for life for taking almost $1m in bribes.
Kang Rixin was dismissed last year from the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation, the biggest operator of nuclear power plants in China.
He was convicted by a Beijing court of abusing his position to enable others to profit, state media said.
He was spared the death penalty because he co-operated with investigators and returned the funds.
Kang had accepted bribes ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11794199

Related stories
Murky world of corruption in China
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8593069.stm

China expands anti-corruption law
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10595981

Beijing airport ex-head executed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8189042.stm

[kristopher]

5. It isn't just China...

6 Charged With Falsifying Concrete Testing Results
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM

One year ago, Testwell Laboratories, a concrete testing company, and two Testwell officials were found guilty of falsifying results on major public works projects. On Thursday, the owner and five engineers at the company chosen to replace Testwell on some of those projects surrendered to face charges that they did the same thing on those jobs and hundreds of others.

They are accused of falsifying thousands of tests at Yankee Stadium, the Second Avenue subway, public schools, among many other projects, and private buildings.

A 29-count indictment charges the six men and the company, American Standard Testing and Consulting Laboratories, under the state racketeering law. It accuses them of a money-making scheme that included falsifying the results of tests required by law to measure the strength and quality of concrete poured on projects in New York City, Westchester County and Long Island. The decade-long scheme also included falsifying documents to get city licenses and manipulating government programs to get jobs for which they were not entitled, according to the charges.

...“The volume of fabricated tests is egregious,” Mr. Vance told reporters. “It was systemic; it was pervasive.”

None of the nearly 3,000...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/nyregion/6-charged-with-falsifying-concrete-testing-results.html?_r=1&hp

[txlibdem]

6. The difference between thieves and swindlers in China vs the USA

China: the death penalty, and what counts as a government regulator gets immediately fired

USA: The men face a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges. In truth they'll get 2 years or no jail time and a financial slap on the wrist (which amounts to less than 1% of the amount of damage caused). Where is the indictment for the government regulators involved?

In short, in China it's *not* profitable to swindle and be a crook -- in the USA it's the *only* thing that's profitable and we revere those who are "successful" because they are "the job creators." :puke: