Talk:Swimming pool reactor

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Umm, several of the examples given weren't actually pool type reactors at all.

Typical are the Argonaut class reactors built to teach nuclear reactor theory, nuclear physics and for use in engineering laboratory experiments.

No. The Argonaut class is air cooled.

It was one of these, the CIRUS that was used to produce plutonium for India's 1974 Pokhran-I nuclear device.

No. CIRUS like NRX is in a calandria, not a pool. Andrewa 11:34, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

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Life boats and life savers are often located around the facility to rescue personnel that may fall into the pool, further adding to the appearance of a swimming pool-like environment.

I can't believe I missed that before... ! Andrewa 10:46, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, maybe some reactor out there has life savers. who knows? I certainly haven't seen them all. theanphibian 19:27, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Oh dear. Neither have I, now that you mention it. Perhaps I should have just flagged it citation needed (;-> like a large and growing proportion of the other material in the article namespace? Andrewa 06:56, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Shoot! File:Fnr color.jpg just got deleted. But I could swear I saw life savers in that picture. -Theanphibian ^{(talk • contribs)} 16:50, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Dangerous?

I have got a question. I can't find the answer in the article, but moreover, I am very curious to the answer: Is it dangerous to fall in the water of a pool-type reactor. Kind regards 82.74.210.167 19:03, 28 May 2007 (UTC) (or nl:Gebruiker:Celloman

In most cases, doubtfully. If it was a reactor of a fairly high power and had been operating at full power for a long time when you fell in, then there could be concerns about your radiation dose, and of course, if the reactor happened to be on when you fell in and you swam in the direction of the reactor (how smart is this?), you could die. Chemically, however, the water is some of the most pure that can be found, and you're likely to mess up the reactor with all of the dirt from your body mucking it up. And this is mostly why people don't just jump in; it would be a big pain in the neck for the operators. theanphibian 19:26, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, of course it's dangerous! It's dangerous for you, that water is what is shielding you from the reactor core, and it's dangerous to the reactor operations, it really messes things up if anything falls in (as said above). That said, it won't cause an explosion or meltdown. It may not even give you radiation sickness. That depends on a lot of things.

But despite photos that show people just walking up to the pool, access to the top of OPAL is very restricted indeed, and I suspect it's similar at other reactors worldwide. People can't just fall in.

It's also dangerous to swim in a spent fuel pool, or at the base of a cooling tower, or any other pool not designed for swimming, whether at a nuclear installation or otherwise. Don't even think of it unless you're acting in a James Bond film or in a similarly bizarre situation.

And I seem to remember a young lady falling into the Batmobile's nuclear power source in an TV show once, which did cause a minor explosion, but caused little obvious damage except to her. So in fiction, anything can happen. I think we knew that. Andrewa 06:35, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Categories

I've removed this article from Category:Nuclear power reactor types, because it isn't one, and also from Category:Nuclear reactors, because Category:Nuclear research reactors is a subcategory of it. Andrewa 06:39, 6 July 2007 (UTC)