Neutron Poison - why hasn't it been used yet?

Granted, I'm no scientist, and even further away from understanding nuclear physics. But I've seen a mention here or there about the use of neutron absorbers, or neutron poison, which has the capability of completely stopping a chain reaction.

While it's easy to sit on my couch and type this out, I'd never be so arrogant to think I have the answers while educated men lose their lives fighting the battle. That's not what this post is. I'm simply asking a question....an inquiry, but certainly not an accusation with arrogant overtones. I simply want to know WHY it hasn't been used yet, since it appears this is what will stop the immediate flow of radioactivity.

Is the area too hot to try and insert such things? I've seen men working at the plants, but I've also seen reports that the area is too hot for humans to go in. So which is it? I'm not quite getting the clear picture here.

I would hate, hate, hate to ever consider that they're trying to save these fuel rods over the safety of the world, but I'm not understanding what the main problems are in executing cooling measures and neutrons absorbers. Surely, there are plans in place for instances such as these where an "all emergency stop" goes into effect, no? How many more Chernobyl's and Three Mile Island's did we need to go through before someone decided to be responsible enough to consider a worst case scenario? And what are they doing now to ensure the same doesn't happen elsewhere?

I think all future and current nuclear plants need to be redesigned with a "self-destruct" safety protocol built in place that would not require human hands to implement. Maybe an elevated pool above each fuel pool that contains the neutron absorber liquid...in the case of meltdown, explosion, natural disaster, or leak, the liquid would automatically release into the fuel pool.

Any other ideas? I don't want this to be another fear-based post....we all know the seriousness of the situation, and we all know it's getting worse. I don't want to gripe and complain about coulda, woulda, and shoulda's...there are plenty of threads for that already. Let's brainstorm. Let's talk it out. Maybe, just MAYBE, someone will read an idea here and be inspired by it. MAYBE that person will know someone who will know someone who has the power to execute a solution for all of us. We'll never know for sure where they got the idea, but at this point it doesn't matter. We're all in this together, and none of us are stupid enough to think that this place isn't frequented by scientists and government types.

I think we could help solve this problem....right here. So if you've got the brains, let her rip. My measly knowledge won't do much, but maybe yours will.

reply to post by Gseven


Maybe you can try Ask Jeeves.
Or Yahoo Answers.

reply to post by Gseven


I think you answered your own question. Its simply too radioactive to approach the main reactors. There is nothing being done about the debris from the explosions and you would have to figure that the debris must be removed before the cooling pipes connected to the reactors can be repaired.

Originally posted by FreeSpeaker
reply to post by Gseven

 

I think you answered your own question. Its simply too radioactive to approach the main reactors. There is nothing being done about the debris from the explosions and you would have to figure that the debris must be removed before the cooling pipes connected to the reactors can be repaired.

Well, sort of, but not really. If that's the case, then why not fly overhead with a neutron absorbing liquid to decrease the radioactivity of the area before entering? I mean, these are the kinds of ideas I'm talking about. If it were solely up to YOU to solve the problem, what would you do and why? True, we all need to be somewhat educated in nuclear physics and even more so in the issues at those particular plants, but it doesn't stop us from being human and trying to solve a collective problem. From a philosophical standpoint, if we actively think about a solution collectively, then the solution will come into the collective consciousness. That's just the way we work.

reply to post by Gseven


The neutron poisons are to stop nuclear fission or fusion, which produces the radiation, not to absorb radiation itself.

As to what I would do? There really is only one answer and that is to entomb the reactors like the Chernobyl sarcophagus and wait until either technology can deal with it or the radioactive sources decay. There is no miricle answer for this sadly. A good example of man playing with power beyond our control.

"poisoning" a reactor is not as simple as you seem to think it is. You have to have a certain degree of control of the reactor, which at this point that control has been lost. The cooling system needs to be intact to initiate a poisoning, which it is not in the reactors in question.

Are you thinking of Boron?
I believe that they mixed sand with boron, amd cement to entomb the chernobyl runaway.
There is no neutron neutralizing water i am aware of...though like you i am no science major, or minor for that matter.
There seems to be no way of tackling this problem that is not beset with pitfalls.

They HAVE to keep pumping water to cool what they can, and keep the reactors as stable as possible.
There is NO other option there.....
They have to also stop any leakage from the plant towards the ocean or down into the soil.
The pools are mostly damaged and probably leaking as well....so the amount of leaked water, plus enough to cool thing off must be contiually fed into the leaky system.
It is the nature of leaks to get larger with time and volume leaked...nuf said there ?
They have had several explosions inside the reactors themselves, and this should have resulted in spent fuel rods from the pool in the upper part of the reactor building may be scattered all over the site in pieces.
Highly radioactive water is leaking from the containment vessel of no 2 reactor.
This indicates meltdown and breach of the vessel which means the hot fuel rods are sitting in a pile on the dry well floor which is cincrete.
How thick that floor is i dont know, but when the hot fuel burns its way through it it will then be free to brun its way down to the water table, and explode in a blast of super heated steam and radioactive particles.
Every day that the reactors lie open to the air they are spewing radiation.
The entombment manouver may not be possible for years to come because the fuel is too hot to be enclosed yet.
Its likely that it would pressure up aand explode again if entombed too early.
Some estimates rn to hundred or so years of pumping to cool it enough for clean up/
I imagine 50 yrs would not be outrageous.
More optomistic estimates run two yrs and better.....
2 YEARS of spewing radiation into the atmosphere.....!
This is more than the world can bear....now i hear NATO destroyed Libyas reactor.
What insanity if true....

They have been using the Neutron Poison Boric acid.

The US sent them 17 tons of Boric acid back on March 17 and they started using it as soon as the got it.

I understand Korea has also sent more.

They are actually doing it from what I hear. But the problem here is that the reactor is leaking. that is why despite pumping water in for so many days it is still not filling up. If it was not leaking then filling it up with water + boric acid /boron would have helped to get it somewhat better.

What would I do?
Well I would have better contingency plans drawn out Well in advance.
For example the built in ability to extract the core (the steel vessel) take it somewhere unpopulated, then place it in a huge concrete tank full of boric acid, close said concrete tank and open the steel tank, so the boric acid can go in the steel tank and stop the reaction.

On the other hand if I was given the current situation to control.
The reactor is leaking, and that leak needs to be stopped. Find it and stop it, pump in concrete or something in until it stops leaking.
People cant work in there? get robots. simple.