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The solution to nuclear waste is "status quo". As far as I know, no person has ever been harmed much less killed by waste from a nuclear power plant. Also, the

by ciphol 5y ago

The solution to nuclear waste is "status quo". As far as I know, no person has ever been harmed much less killed by waste from a nuclear power plant. Also, the dangerous isotopes are also the ones which decay most quickly. Let the waste sit for 300 years and it will be no more radioactive than the uranium ore it was originally mined from. At that point you can dump it back into the uranium mine, or else keep it anywhere else you think would be safer than an abandoned uranium mine, the risks are miniscule either way.

ostenning 5y ago
But generally this isn't what happens right? Often the waste gets dumped in surrounding oceans of Europe. Nuclear is an amazing source of cheap and clean energy, but the problem has always been the management of Nuclear plants and waste that has resulted in environmental disasters. I'm honestly not confident in anyone to handle the Nuclear properly, not private enterprise or government. As history tells us, nobody can seem to get it right 100% of the time. Maybe advancement in technology means safer Nuclear plants and easier to manage waste, but maybe they thought the same thing when they built the Fukushima or Chernobyl plants. History has a knack for repeating itself.
- MagnumOpus 5y ago
  > Often the waste gets dumped in surrounding oceans of Europe Citation needed. (Or in less polite words: stop lying, it doesn't.) > waste that has resulted in environmental disasters Have you ever seen a coal ash pond? Do you know how many there are? Do you know what is in them? (There are thousands, they are filled with arsenic, heavy metals and often radioactive waste, and they are all across the landscape.) Have you seen how brown coal is mined? Obliterating entire towns and villages as a matter of routine? All waste by all nuclear reactors in the world would fit in a single brown coal open pit and would do less human and environmental damage...
  - ostenning 5y ago
    > Citation needed. (Or in less polite words: stop lying, it doesn't.) Sorry, you are right, let me clarify my answer. Dumping of radioactive waste in Europe was prevalent back in the 80's, but the effects of this are still felt today. Just recently a large number of barrels were found in the Baltic [1]. Japan also has announced it will be dumping large quantities of radioactive material into the ocean, because they simply don't know how to handle the situation any better [2]. The Japanese government claims that they intend to make the waste safe, personally I wouldn't trust such a statement. > Have you seen how brown coal is mined? Obliterating entire towns and villages as a matter of routine? I never mentioned the environmental impact of burning or mining coal, nor did I claim it was any better or worse than nuclear power. I'm highlighting that mismanagement of Nuclear has historically been a problem and I don't feel confident that those mistakes aren't repeated in the future. [1] - https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/2800-radioactive-waste-barrels-found-near-baltic-sea-stored-carelessly/ https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/2800-ra... [2] - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/13/fukushima-japan-to-start-dumping-contaminated-water-pacific-ocean https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/13/fukushim...

by ciphol 5y ago

ostenning 5y ago

But generally this isn't what happens right? Often the waste gets dumped in surrounding oceans of Europe. Nuclear is an amazing source of cheap and clean energy, but the problem has always been the management of Nuclear plants and waste that has resulted in environmental disasters. I'm honestly not confident in anyone to handle the Nuclear properly, not private enterprise or government. As history tells us, nobody can seem to get it right 100% of the time. Maybe advancement in technology means safer Nuclear plants and easier to manage waste, but maybe they thought the same thing when they built the Fukushima or Chernobyl plants. History has a knack for repeating itself.

MagnumOpus 5y ago
> Often the waste gets dumped in surrounding oceans of Europe Citation needed. (Or in less polite words: stop lying, it doesn't.) > waste that has resulted in environmental disasters Have you ever seen a coal ash pond? Do you know how many there are? Do you know what is in them? (There are thousands, they are filled with arsenic, heavy metals and often radioactive waste, and they are all across the landscape.) Have you seen how brown coal is mined? Obliterating entire towns and villages as a matter of routine? All waste by all nuclear reactors in the world would fit in a single brown coal open pit and would do less human and environmental damage...
- ostenning 5y ago
  > Citation needed. (Or in less polite words: stop lying, it doesn't.) Sorry, you are right, let me clarify my answer. Dumping of radioactive waste in Europe was prevalent back in the 80's, but the effects of this are still felt today. Just recently a large number of barrels were found in the Baltic [1]. Japan also has announced it will be dumping large quantities of radioactive material into the ocean, because they simply don't know how to handle the situation any better [2]. The Japanese government claims that they intend to make the waste safe, personally I wouldn't trust such a statement. > Have you seen how brown coal is mined? Obliterating entire towns and villages as a matter of routine? I never mentioned the environmental impact of burning or mining coal, nor did I claim it was any better or worse than nuclear power. I'm highlighting that mismanagement of Nuclear has historically been a problem and I don't feel confident that those mistakes aren't repeated in the future. [1] - https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/2800-radioactive-waste-barrels-found-near-baltic-sea-stored-carelessly/ https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/2800-ra... [2] - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/13/fukushima-japan-to-start-dumping-contaminated-water-pacific-ocean https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/13/fukushim...