3 ms·

Nuclear is also by far more dangerous and long-term-problematic than everything else, hence the regulations.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
Nuclear contamination potential is no different than any other industrial activity humans engage in with poisonous materials at that scale and when we spill it it has the nice side effect of being and going away over time. You can't say that about heavy metal laced mine tailings leeching into a watershed or the various chemicals humanity has cooked up over the years and then dumped in the ocean. People just get their panties in a knot over nuclear contamination because "omg invisible" or something like that.
- forgotmypw17 5y ago
  >nice side effect of being and going away over time Pray tell, how long do you expect to live, and many centuries is your definition of "going away over time"?
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    >Pray tell, how long do you expect to live, and many centuries is your definition of "going away over time"? Anything that's "death soon or guaranteed cancer later" levels of energetic won't be lasting centuries because physics. Centuries is infinitely faster than the myriad of substances that don't go anywhere unless we pick them up and move them. Browse the EPA's national priority list for examples. Nuclear is no more of a environmental contamination hazard than any other similar scale human activity involving nasty stuff.
    - forgotmypw17 5y ago
      >Anything that's "death soon or guaranteed cancer later" levels of energetic won't be lasting centuries because physics. I don't know which "physics" you're referring to, but here are the half-lives of just the most common isotopes (out of OVER 100) released in Chernobyl. iodine-131: 8.04 days caesium-137: 30 years strontium-90: 29.12 years plutonium-241 (decays into Americium-241): 14.4 years Americium-241: 430 years Remember, these are HALF-LIFE numbers, meaning half the isotopes will still be radioactive after these time intervals.
      - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
        Ok. Now do heavy metals. Having shit magically go away by itself is such a massive plus. Imagine how contaminated that part of the world would be if Chernobyl released equally dangerous (like remediation workers dying in the same amount of time) levels of thallium.
        forgotmypw17 5y ago
        I don't understand, what does thallium have to do with anything, in this case?

Nuclear contamination potential is no different than any other industrial activity humans engage in with poisonous materials at that scale and when we spill it it has the nice side effect of being and going away over time. You can't say that about heavy metal laced mine tailings leeching into a watershed or the various chemicals humanity has cooked up over the years and then dumped in the ocean. People just get their panties in a knot over nuclear contamination because "omg invisible" or something like that.

forgotmypw17 5y ago
>nice side effect of being and going away over time Pray tell, how long do you expect to live, and many centuries is your definition of "going away over time"?
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  >Pray tell, how long do you expect to live, and many centuries is your definition of "going away over time"? Anything that's "death soon or guaranteed cancer later" levels of energetic won't be lasting centuries because physics. Centuries is infinitely faster than the myriad of substances that don't go anywhere unless we pick them up and move them. Browse the EPA's national priority list for examples. Nuclear is no more of a environmental contamination hazard than any other similar scale human activity involving nasty stuff.
  - forgotmypw17 5y ago
    >Anything that's "death soon or guaranteed cancer later" levels of energetic won't be lasting centuries because physics. I don't know which "physics" you're referring to, but here are the half-lives of just the most common isotopes (out of OVER 100) released in Chernobyl. iodine-131: 8.04 days caesium-137: 30 years strontium-90: 29.12 years plutonium-241 (decays into Americium-241): 14.4 years Americium-241: 430 years Remember, these are HALF-LIFE numbers, meaning half the isotopes will still be radioactive after these time intervals.
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      Ok. Now do heavy metals. Having shit magically go away by itself is such a massive plus. Imagine how contaminated that part of the world would be if Chernobyl released equally dangerous (like remediation workers dying in the same amount of time) levels of thallium.
      - forgotmypw17 5y ago
        I don't understand, what does thallium have to do with anything, in this case?