How likely is it that the nuclear reactor in japan will explode?

Buffalo Gap

I mean a how likely is it that we will have another Hiroshima?



Davenport

the risks of it spreading is low right now so thats good news. The scientists said its not as bad as they thought it was. Remember that the media is always going to hype things to make news. well the worst thats gonna happen is that people will breath it but in the long term you have high chance of getting cancer.



Alexandria

Just about zero. The reactors were all shut down immediately, unlike Chernobyl which was running. They all have containment vessels, unlike Chernobyl. They have a different type of core, which will not burn. The hydrogen explosions blew the roof off, which was fairly lightweight structure to keep the weather out. The containment building is much stronger. Even if the cooling attempts totally failed, the reactor would not explode. It would make a mess inside the containment building which would probably be sealed off for a few years then cleaned up with robots. Incidentally, ground zero at Hiroshima is now a public park, and several people survived the explosions. One guy was at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and died recently aged 93.



New Preston

There's a good chance that we will see one or more meltdowns like Chernobyl. Hiroshima -- no. That was an A-bomb, not a meltdown.