YYYAUnless you really work with nuclear technology, it’s a programme that we all know and has grown to adore. Mr Burns from The Simpsons continually taps his fingers together in animation
For over three decades, nuclear employees have been cringing on their couches while watching one of America’s longest-running animated programmes on FOX.
Additionally, despite the fact that this programme gave rise to several catchphrases that have become ingrained in contemporary popular culture, its humorous portrayal of the hypothetical Springfield nuclear power plant—and its careless safety operator Homer Simpson—is hardly “great.”
Here are seven aspects of nuclear energy that “The Simpsons” didn’t quite get right.
Operators in control rooms collaborate with one another
In numerous episodes, Homer Simpsons Portrait works by himself in a control room to run the reactor using a remote safety console.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) mandates that during reactor operation, a supervisor and a second supervisor or reactor operator must be present at all times. A licence from the NRC is also required for anybody running or overseeing the operation of a commercial reactor in the United States.
The upkeep of nuclear power stations is excellent
In the episode, the Springfield facility is well-known for its safety problems. They include anything from rat infestations to cooling towers that are damaged and only kept together by chewing gum to leaking pipelines that release radioactive waste.
This just doesn’t occur. One of the safest industries to work in and live near is the nuclear one. Characters from The Simpsons observe plutonium being used as a paperweight.
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Handling plutonium in a heated cell is recommended. Period. Additionally, strict safety requirements are enforced. There are several monitoring systems in place for each plant. Preventative maintenance and routine safety checks are constantly carried out by skilled staff. Additionally, each facility has two inspectors employed by the NRC who are free to witness anything at any time.
Spent nuclear fuel for commercial use is not a liquid
The radioactive waste that leaks out of the facility’s pipelines and large drum containers is frequently depicted in the programme as a green, gooey substance.
The nuclear fuel used in modern reactors is composed of metal fuel rods that house tiny ceramic pellets of enriched uranium oxide. Tall assemblies made of the fuel rods are then put into the reactor.
After usage, the fuel rods are transported into 40-foot-deep steel-lined temporary storage pools. They are sealed inside welded steel-reinforced concrete containers after at least three years of wet storage.
Storage of nuclear waste is secure
Radioactive garbage is frequently spotted throughout Springfield being recklessly dumped into oceans, stuffed into trees, and placed on playgrounds. In reality, the procedure is slightly different.
Spent fuel is kept safely and securely at over 100 reactor and storage facilities around the country. As previously stated, the fuel is either encased in storage pools or dry casks.
Who can forget Blinky, the terrifying mutant spider or the three-eyed fish?
Due to the fact that nuclear power facilities only emit water vapour as pollution. You won’t be able to view these characters. In fact, over the course of a year, your granite countertops emit more radiation than living adjacent to a nuclear power plant.
Our national labs do not sell safety command consoles to power plants
Although our laboratories frequently licence their innovations to companies. And collaborate on early-stage research projects with industry, they do not accept orders for replacement components at nuclear reactors.
Homer spills Coke on his controls in one episode, “Bart on the Road,” and phones the Oak Ridge Nuclear Facility (aka, our national lab) for a new console.