I-MAG STS Corporation
As fans of the Star Wars movies know, Darth Vader kills Emperor Palpatine by
throwing him into the Death Star's reactor core. This would imply that
perhaps the battle station's construction was not complete, or that it was
designed more along the lines of the RBMK reactors made infamous at
Chernobyl. The General Electric Mark I reactors now causing concerns at five
of six Fukushima Daiichi facilities have proven somewhat popular over the
years. Actually, one might argue that the Mark Is, despite their age, have done
well to survive a huge earthquake, a tsunami, several explosions and
shampoos with enhanced seawater. In the United States there are 23 working
GE Mark I reactors. Most started operation in the early 1970s, although Fermi
2 in Monroe Michigan (Fermi 1 was a different type that had a partial fuel
meltdown in 1966) and Hope Creek in Hancocks Bridge New Jersey did not fire
up until 1986 and 1988, respectively. Among the oldest is Oyster Creek near
Toms River in New Jersey. Despite a somewhat checkered history, it is
approved to run until 2029, although it will likely retire in 2019. Of some
concern is that it was sited above the highest tidal surge level. We don't expect
a tsunami to smash New Jersey, but in many respects a category 5 hurricane
(Katrina was a mere 4.5) causes damage similar to a tsunami even though the
water is moving at a fraction of the speed. The New Jersey hydrological sample
did not include accurate measures from any years with a major meteorological
disaster. As long as the claimed one billion dollars in improvements to Oyster
Creek include really first-rate backup power supply systems there should be
little to worry about.