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Why do people always forget that coal plants spew radiation into the environment? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-

• ceejayoz 6y ago
  There's a significant difference between diffuse radioactivity and the sort of waste nuclear plants put out, though. In both impact on humans, and mitigation.
  • DuskStar 6y ago
    Right - diffuse radioactivity is harder to contain or clean up.
    • ceejayoz 6y ago
      Less necessary to do so, though.
      • DuskStar 6y ago
        Well, no - not if the linear no threshold theory of radiation dosages is correct. If it is, then that diffuse radiation leads to cancer just as surely as acute radiation exposure.
• Klinky 6y ago
  I was already aware. How does pointing this out solve nuclear waste storage issues?
  • jjoonathan 6y ago
    Coal was the alternative we chose, so it set the standard to beat.
    • Klinky 6y ago
      How does this solve nuclear waste storage? It has nothing to do with the challenges of storing nuclear waste.
    • funcDropShadow 6y ago
      Coal wasn't chosen after nuclear was abandoned. Coal was used for centuries before. And the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is not only from the last 30-40 years. It started to rise significantly with the spreading of the industrial revolution.