What happens if you fall into one of those pools where they store the highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods?
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00:00 (music)
00:04 Uh-oh.
00:05 You just fell into a pool
00:08 with this thing.
00:11 What is this?
00:13 How would falling in here affect your health?
00:16 And could you actually survive this?
00:19 This is WHAT IF,
00:21 and here's what would happen
00:23 if you fell into a pool
00:24 full of spent nuclear fuel rods.
00:27 This is a spent nuclear fuel pool,
00:31 and you've just accidentally fallen into it.
00:34 But what exactly is this thing?
00:37 This large pool of water
00:39 is meant to cool spent fuel rods
00:41 after they come out of a nuclear reactor.
00:44 While powering a nuclear reactor,
00:46 these fuel rods become very, very hot.
00:49 We're talking 2,800 degrees.
00:52 After it's spent 3 to 6 years
00:54 inside of a nuclear reactor,
00:56 a fuel rod is no longer efficient.
00:58 Problem is,
00:59 it still emits plenty of harmful radiation,
01:02 and it will for the next 10,000 years.
01:06 Even though it's trash,
01:07 there's not a garbage dump in the world
01:09 that will accept it.
01:10 So why is water a good place to put these things?
01:15 Not only does the water spend several decades
01:18 cooling the fuel rods,
01:19 but it also affects the radiation.
01:22 The water essentially acts as a biological shield,
01:26 with hydrogen absorbing and deflecting
01:28 the radiation bouncing against it.
01:30 This makes it completely safe
01:32 for you to stand near the pool
01:34 with no ill effects.
01:36 But what happens if you fall in the water?
01:39 Well, as soon as you orient yourself,
01:41 you'll quickly notice the temperature of the pool.
01:44 This big tub of water won't be the refreshing dip
01:47 you're looking for on a hot summer day.
01:49 Instead, it'll be around 30°C (95°F),
01:52 so a bit colder than your average hot tub,
01:55 but still very warm.
01:57 Let's hope you didn't accidentally turn off
01:59 the water flow as you're falling into the pool.
02:01 If you did,
02:02 then you'd be in some serious trouble.
02:04 Spent nuclear fuel pools are constantly cycling out water
02:08 in order to keep it at a cool enough temperature.
02:11 Remember, these fuel rods are incredibly hot,
02:14 and if the water isn't cycled out,
02:16 then it would heat up significantly
02:17 and slowly evaporate over time,
02:20 resulting in you burning to a crisp.
02:24 But that didn't happen.
02:25 So now that you're starting to swim
02:27 in this hot pool of water,
02:28 when does the horrible radiation poisoning kick in?
02:32 Or when do you turn green
02:33 and start to gain superpowers?
02:35 These are the sort of things that are supposed to happen
02:37 when you fall into something that has nuclear fuel in it, right?
02:41 Not exactly.
02:42 Although that sounds like fun,
02:44 it wouldn't happen to you if you fell into a spent nuclear fuel pool.
02:48 That's because of the water.
02:50 Not only does it protect the people outside of the pool,
02:53 it'll also protect you if you happen to fall inside one.
02:57 As long as you don't swim several meters underwater
02:59 to touch the fuel rods,
03:01 you'd be completely fine.
03:02 Yeah, in theory,
03:04 you could swim in this pool until you looked like a raisin
03:07 without feeling any negative effects.
03:09 Although they're protecting something incredibly dangerous,
03:12 spent nuclear fuel pools are quite serene,
03:15 and kind of boring.
03:18 In fact, this might be a lot cleaner
03:20 and safer than your average public pool.
03:23 You won't find any germs,
03:25 or children peeing in the water here.
03:27 And swimming in this pool would expose you to less radiation
03:30 than you experience in your everyday life.
03:33 We encounter radiation in medical procedures
03:36 such as x-rays and CT scans,
03:38 from certain fuels like gas or coal.
03:41 Even our televisions and other screens
03:44 give off tiny traces of radiation.
03:46 Swimming in here isn't any more dangerous
03:49 than watching a "What If?" video.
03:53 If splashing around in a spent nuclear fuel pool
03:55 is a little too boring for you,
03:58 how about swimming on one of Saturn's moons?
04:02 Well, that sounds like a story for another WHAT IF.
04:06 (upbeat music)