On 07/09/16 13:25, Tim Streater wrote:
In article , The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

On 07/09/16 10:38, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artÃ*culo , Tim
Streater escribió:

I'm talking about a pond that went
critical and perhaps even exploded - sometime in the 50s IIRC.

1957. Mayak, in Russia. Storage tank exploded when the cooling system
failed and the Ivans didn't notice, decay heat dried out the waste which
exploded, blowing the 160-ton concrete lid off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_disaster

Ah, yes. I'd only remembered part of it.

So not a nuclear explosion and not a criticality.

Just a chemical explosion and some rather hot fuel rods.

True but I wouldn't have wanted to be there. And I imagine that any
such facility might have similar issues - you have to keep a sharp eye
on any mixtures that might be interesting from a chemical perspective
too.


Everyone knows you don't let spent fuel ponds dry out.

That's why they don't normally put lids on them,

Its kinda easy to see..



--
How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.

Adolf Hitler