re: graphite moderated reactors.
"The very thing that the engineers said was impossible actually happened, so when engineers say that it is impossible to have a catastrophic accident with a graphite pebble reactor, I am skeptical."
But thats like comparing a turbine engine to a diesel piston engine because they both burn hydrocarbon fuel. From what I understand, the designs are fundamentally different despite the fact that graphite is used to moderate the reactor. Chernobyl used active cooling and active safety measures that, if they were to fail, led inevitably to disaster. The Pebble-Bed reactors can be switched off, and left completely unattended and the consequences will be several orders of magnitude less severe.
Davin :.