The amazing story of how a young Jimmy Carter helped avert a nuclear disaster

[NNadir]

4. The radionuclides in the core would have decayed until the radiation level was much lower.

In defense of the choices made in the now dubious approach that was enacted, the human "liquidator" approach also applied at Chernobyl, much less was understood about nuclear power at that time than is understood now.

Radiation paranoia, an outgrowth of the fear of nuclear war, has allowed far more dangerous practices, one of which is the massive death toll associated with air pollution and the other is the extreme global heating leading to extreme weather and the collapse of ecosystems around the world.

The NRX was a small research reactor. After repair, it was brought back on line and operated for more than 4 decades.