3 ms·

I don't think nuclear waste is as big a problem as you might think it is: https://what-if.xkcd.com/29/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/29/ And on a side note, ar

by fifnir 8y ago

I don't think nuclear waste is as big a problem as you might think it is: https://what-if.xkcd.com/29/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/29/ And on a side note, are solar and aeolic scalable enough to support (let's say) the entire US ? How much of the country would physically need to be covered for that? Cause I've seen claims that it's just impossible

_ph_ 8y ago
Nuclear waste won't kill anyone, as long as it is contained in the storage containers. We just don't have found a way to keep it guaranteed safe for centuries. Solar alone could easily power the country. Covering large parts of Arizona would produce enough energy to power the whole world. Powering the US, especially distributing it across the states, makes that an easy job. And of course, there is wind. Probably it would be enough to cover all rooftops to power any state. On Sunny days, Germany can power 30% of the grid by solar only, and that is in a country which is less suitable for solar than any place in the US except Oregon.
DoctorOetker 8y ago
regarding the xkcd, it's not really accurate (it seems to consider only the neutrons as "radiation"), for a somewhat better description see the first answer at https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/187605/does-water-absorb-neutrons https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/187605/does-wate...
alkonaut 8y ago
The cartoon only argues that the material is safe to swim next to in a pool. It doesn't argue that storing spent fuel in a pool for hundreds of years is a good idea because of it (it isn't). Highly active waste is stored to be separated from the biosphere 10k to 100k years (If stored in a pool that's 200 to 2000 pools assuming a 50 year lifespan and hoping there are no massive earthquakes to ruin that plan - and hoping people are still around to rebuild the pools). The alternatives for storing includes the pool idea (however difficult), as well as storing in several km deep drill holes (downside not being able to move it again). The most realistic one is storing it in earthquake-safe bedrock at 500m depth, in large metal capsules embedded in clay or salt. Needless to say, even for a small amount of material, this is a rather expensive storage.

by fifnir 8y ago

_ph_ 8y ago

Nuclear waste won't kill anyone, as long as it is contained in the storage containers. We just don't have found a way to keep it guaranteed safe for centuries. Solar alone could easily power the country. Covering large parts of Arizona would produce enough energy to power the whole world. Powering the US, especially distributing it across the states, makes that an easy job. And of course, there is wind. Probably it would be enough to cover all rooftops to power any state. On Sunny days, Germany can power 30% of the grid by solar only, and that is in a country which is less suitable for solar than any place in the US except Oregon.

DoctorOetker 8y ago

regarding the xkcd, it's not really accurate (it seems to consider only the neutrons as "radiation"), for a somewhat better description see the first answer at https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/187605/does-water-absorb-neutrons https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/187605/does-wate...

alkonaut 8y ago

The cartoon only argues that the material is safe to swim next to in a pool. It doesn't argue that storing spent fuel in a pool for hundreds of years is a good idea because of it (it isn't). Highly active waste is stored to be separated from the biosphere 10k to 100k years (If stored in a pool that's 200 to 2000 pools assuming a 50 year lifespan and hoping there are no massive earthquakes to ruin that plan - and hoping people are still around to rebuild the pools). The alternatives for storing includes the pool idea (however difficult), as well as storing in several km deep drill holes (downside not being able to move it again). The most realistic one is storing it in earthquake-safe bedrock at 500m depth, in large metal capsules embedded in clay or salt. Needless to say, even for a small amount of material, this is a rather expensive storage.