"I was simply pointing out that when talking about potential danger from a given substance, the absolute amount, X ft^3, doesn't tell us much with knowing more

"I was simply pointing out that when talking about potential danger from a given substance, the absolute amount, X ft^3, doesn't tell us much with knowing more about the substance's potential for deleterious effects at a given quantity of the substance. " Of course. Someone just asked "is 70,000 tons a lot", and I was just doing the math to show how much it is in measures people might understand a little better. I make no claims as to the danger represented by that amount, only "is it a large amount". IE it may be a small amount, and totally and completely horrible. "P.P.S Is the amount of toxic waste produced by solar vs nuclear per unit of energy produced in any way comparable? If so that would no doubt be of interest to the world at large. " I actually don't know, but i may go try to figure it out.