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> Carter basically stopped the nuclear energy industry by prohibiting reprocessing of used fuel. Without disposal or reprocessing, where does it go? This seems
by Jedd 4y ago
> Carter basically stopped the nuclear energy industry by prohibiting reprocessing of used fuel. Without disposal or reprocessing, where does it go?
This seems like a stretch.
From the article you linked:
Ford initiated the policy a year before Carter signed the EO. While I'm sure some other countries adopted the position due to political pressure from the USA, it doesn't explain why the fission nuclear energy industry everywhere has failed to excel.
The PBS article, written two decades ago, describes an event that's now ~45 years in our past -- but it's not clear why that policy hasn't since been upturned, or what / who is responsible for its continuation (other than the tritely obvious answer 'every USA administration since then').
- barry-cotter 4y ago> it doesn't explain why the fission nuclear energy industry everywhere has failed to excel. Isn’t French nuclear powering 70% of all their needs?
- SuoDuanDao 4y agoare they reprocessing spent fuel? That seemed to be the crux of the parent comment.
- Xylakant 4y agoThey have nearly half of the worlds reprocessing capacity in their plant in La Hague https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Hague_site https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Hague_site
- Schroedingersat 4y agoAnd how much energy does the fuel coming from that plant produce each year as a fraction of the whole?
- SuoDuanDao 4y agoNet energy might be a better measure - a plant could produce a huge amount of energy from reprocessed fuel, but if it costs more energy to rerefine the fuel than mine similar fuel from rock formations...
- Jedd 4y agoSure, everyone points to France when talking about nuclear fission - adoption, abandonment, success, failure - taken over the past 50 years they've got it all. France would have been subject to pressure from the USA at the time, so it's certainly a notable anomaly from this angle, as well as several others. I think this makes it an interesting case study, but doesn't (given it's such an exceptional example) explain the phenomenon we're talking about.