How sea water could corrode nuclear fuel

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10131

[font face=Times,Times New Roman,Serif]1.26.2012
[font size=5]How sea water could corrode nuclear fuel[/font]

[font size=3]Japan used seawater to cool nuclear fuel at the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant after the tsunami in March 2011 -- and that was probably the best action to take at the time, says Professor Alexandra Navrotsky of the University of California, Davis.

But Navrotsky and others have since discovered a new way in which seawater can corrode nuclear fuel, forming uranium compounds that could potentially travel long distances, either in solution or as very small particles. The research team published its work Jan. 23 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“This is a phenomenon that has not been considered before,” said Alexandra Navrotsky, distinguished professor of ceramic, earth and environmental materials chemistry. “We don’t know how much this will increase the rate of corrosion, but it is something that will have to be considered in future.”

Japan used seawater to avoid a much more serious accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant, and Navrotsky said, to her knowledge, there is no evidence of long-distance uranium contamination from the plant.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1119758109

[SpoonFed]

1. It's good to know...

that these nuke reactors are only going to spew puppies and lollipops when the rods overheat and emergency cooling fails and seawater then must be used.

I like long distance puppies and lollipops.