4 ms·

On the global scale, nuclear waste is a minuscule problem. Orders of magnitude smaller than iron production waste. So despite the high cost of nuclear waste sto

On the global scale, nuclear waste is a minuscule problem. Orders of magnitude smaller than iron production waste. So despite the high cost of nuclear waste storage per kilogram, the total cost is actually minuscule.

Schroedingersat 4y ago
For an average American's final energy usage you'd need 2kg of Uranium per year transported and stored in 5kg of copper and steel cask encased in 20kg of concrete. Dealing with this is significantly more dangerous and destructive than the 250-500kg of iron ore per person per year. And leaching it in a mine with median grade uses about 200kg of sulfuric acid each year to process 7 tonnes of heavy metal containing ores. The only reason it's 'miniscule' is most of the problem is out sourced to kazakhstan, uzbekistan, nigeria, namibia, and australia. And around 3% of final energy is provided by nuclear.
- concordDance 4y ago
  Can I see how you got that Uranium figure? Because raw Uranium doesn't need that sort of treatment (it's not radioactive enough) and I'm struggling to believe 2kg of refined Uranium is needed per person per year to meetb3% of energy need.
  - Schroedingersat 4y ago
    DU is still a toxic heavy metal, and the 3-15% by mass (or 100% in a HWR) that becomes SNF needs containment that outmasses it by at least an order of magnitude. Then there's another order of magnitude more LLW again. > to meet 3% of energy need This is disingenuous because the proposition is to expand it to make a relevant contribution to decarbonization.
mschuster91 4y ago
> On the global scale, nuclear waste is a minuscule problem. Orders of magnitude smaller than iron production waste. At least the waste from iron production doesn't need to be locked away for millennia safe enough that it doesn't pose a danger to people.
- hprotagonist 4y ago
  Arguably, sequestering all that CO2 for ten thousand years sounds like a great idea! 7% of global emissions. https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadma...
- deepsun 4y ago
  That's already included in the cost. Still minuscule.

Schroedingersat 4y ago

For an average American's final energy usage you'd need 2kg of Uranium per year transported and stored in 5kg of copper and steel cask encased in 20kg of concrete. Dealing with this is significantly more dangerous and destructive than the 250-500kg of iron ore per person per year. And leaching it in a mine with median grade uses about 200kg of sulfuric acid each year to process 7 tonnes of heavy metal containing ores. The only reason it's 'miniscule' is most of the problem is out sourced to kazakhstan, uzbekistan, nigeria, namibia, and australia. And around 3% of final energy is provided by nuclear.

concordDance 4y ago
Can I see how you got that Uranium figure? Because raw Uranium doesn't need that sort of treatment (it's not radioactive enough) and I'm struggling to believe 2kg of refined Uranium is needed per person per year to meetb3% of energy need.
- Schroedingersat 4y ago
  DU is still a toxic heavy metal, and the 3-15% by mass (or 100% in a HWR) that becomes SNF needs containment that outmasses it by at least an order of magnitude. Then there's another order of magnitude more LLW again. > to meet 3% of energy need This is disingenuous because the proposition is to expand it to make a relevant contribution to decarbonization.

mschuster91 4y ago

> On the global scale, nuclear waste is a minuscule problem. Orders of magnitude smaller than iron production waste. At least the waste from iron production doesn't need to be locked away for millennia safe enough that it doesn't pose a danger to people.

hprotagonist 4y ago
Arguably, sequestering all that CO2 for ten thousand years sounds like a great idea! 7% of global emissions. https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadma...
deepsun 4y ago
That's already included in the cost. Still minuscule.