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At the end of the day, we can just bury it: * https://globalnews.ca/news/10191441/site-canada-nuclear-wast https://globalnews.ca/news/10191441/site-canada-nucle

At the end of the day, we can just bury it: * https://globalnews.ca/news/10191441/site-canada-nuclear-wast https://globalnews.ca/news/10191441/site-canada-nuclear-wast... Can.. CAN??? This is the sort of magical thinking that the pro nuclear crowed cant come to terms with. Yes you can, why didn't you did this hole in the ground in 1980 when the first reactor went on line... Looking for a site to dig at next year does not solve the 40 years of waste (public electric, Canada has waste going back to the 50's) sitting on the ground outside at every nuclear site out side the baltic. (they dug a hole, and guess what its filling up pretty fast cause they built more stuff after they started digging). Who pays to clean all this up? Who is going to foot the bill for the hole? who is going to fund security for it for the rest of time. Show me that math before we build one more plant. Dig the the hole. DO IT don't TELL ME ABOUT IT. SEE: Every project in the world that was going to do it, France, USA, USSR, Japan, Canada... and one working hole in Finland that will fill up in half the expected time. >> It's currently not economically viable to reprocess it because uranium is so cheap, but having it available for possible future needs would be nice. https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0607033 https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0... Dig it up, and then leave a mess for someone else to clean is no different than the economics of coal, it's just on a smaller scale. And thank god cause uranium has a half life. >> You are comparing apple to orange: the above was a tiny module. Nuclear "waste" from reactors is stored in cement cylinders that weight tonnes. There is no amount of "safe" nuclear material. Full stop. >>> The nation's spent nuclear fuel is initially stored in steel-lined concrete pools surrounded by water. It's later removed from the pools and placed into dry storage casks that are made of steel and concrete or other materials used for protective shielding. From: https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-nuclear-fuel https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-... The waste isnt embedded in cement, Its in a cement container with a cement lid. They used to use (and may still be made by a company that makes) septic tanks. Your nuclear waste has the same protective storage as a rural house puts its shit. The only reason it goes in this sort of housing. Because it makes it hard to casually mess something up (see every pre 1970's nuclear accident, and there are LOTS OF THEM, including at the same site as the next point). You mean this reactor that Canada shut down: https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Canadian-isotope-reactor-enters-retirement# https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Canadian-isotope-rea... This was vital, maybe for the public good sure. And leaking heavy water. In the grand scheme of things not THAT bad, but should not be happening... was this a systemic failure or a true accident? The reality was that the the economics to run it safely weren't there.

throw0101d 3y ago
> Can.. CAN??? Yes. > Who pays to clean all this up? Who is going to foot the bill for the hole? The people who use the electricity that is generated. Just like they'll pay for solar panel recycling (if such a thing exists) and for burying wind turbine blades (which are not, AFAIK, recyclable) that were also used in creating electricity for the grid, as well as for dealing with the end-of-life batteries that are used for energy storage when it comes to renewables. Which is why I'm also pro-carbon pricing: the people polluting need to cost-in externalities. (Which, if you have wind and solar you'll also be paying, since backup gas/coal/oil plants are needed for windless nights.) > SEE: Every project in the world that was going to do it, France, USA, USSR, Japan, Canada... and one working hole in Finland that will fill up in half the expected time. If you don't want to bury it in a central location, then let the casks sit in situ where they are. > Dig it up, and then leave a mess for someone else to clean is no different than the economics of coal, it's just on a smaller scale. And thank god cause uranium has a half life. What is there to "deal with"? It's an inert object: just let it sit there. The various forms of radiation are a known quantity, as is how to deal with them. Again, see "What About the Waste?": * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2t2tYQsK94 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2t2tYQsK94 > There is no amount of "safe" nuclear material. Full stop. Better ban bananas then. And smoke alarms. > You mean this reactor that Canada shut down: https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Canadian-isotope-reactor-enters-retirement https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Canadian-isotope-rea... Nope, the one at Darlington that just signed a deal a few weeks ago to provide isotopes for medical treatments (which I linked to already, but you failed to notice): > The deal to produce the isotope at Darlington will ease concerns about access to the raw material for TheraSphere, which has been provided to more than 100,000 liver cancer patients worldwide, said Peter Pattison, president of Boston Scientific's interventional oncology franchise in Ottawa. * https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-darlington-nuclear-isotope-yttrium-90-therasphere-1.7135480 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-darlington-nu... See also press release from 2023: * https://www.bwxt.com/bwxt-medical/news/2023/02/01/BWXT-Medical-and-Laurentis-Complete-Key-Tc-99m-Generator-Program-Milestone https://www.bwxt.com/bwxt-medical/news/2023/02/01/BWXT-Medic... Half of the world's Cobalt-60 is produced by Ontario nuclear power generation: > Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Nordion (Canada) Inc. have signed an agreement to expand production of Cobalt-60 to the Darlington Nuclear Station. Currently, approximately 50% of the world’s Cobalt-60 is produced in Ontario. > Cobalt-60 is a life-saving isotope responsible for sterilizing approximately 40% of the world’s single-use medical devices, including syringes, gloves, implants and surgical instruments. It is also used to treat a variety of food and consumer products for the reduction of harmful pathogens. * https://www.nordion.com/darlington-to-become-new-source-of-life-saving-medical-isotope/ https://www.nordion.com/darlington-to-become-new-source-of-l...

throw0101d 3y ago

> Can.. CAN??? Yes. > Who pays to clean all this up? Who is going to foot the bill for the hole? The people who use the electricity that is generated. Just like they'll pay for solar panel recycling (if such a thing exists) and for burying wind turbine blades (which are not, AFAIK, recyclable) that were also used in creating electricity for the grid, as well as for dealing with the end-of-life batteries that are used for energy storage when it comes to renewables. Which is why I'm also pro-carbon pricing: the people polluting need to cost-in externalities. (Which, if you have wind and solar you'll also be paying, since backup gas/coal/oil plants are needed for windless nights.) > SEE: Every project in the world that was going to do it, France, USA, USSR, Japan, Canada... and one working hole in Finland that will fill up in half the expected time. If you don't want to bury it in a central location, then let the casks sit in situ where they are. > Dig it up, and then leave a mess for someone else to clean is no different than the economics of coal, it's just on a smaller scale. And thank god cause uranium has a half life. What is there to "deal with"? It's an inert object: just let it sit there. The various forms of radiation are a known quantity, as is how to deal with them. Again, see "What About the Waste?": * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2t2tYQsK94 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2t2tYQsK94 > There is no amount of "safe" nuclear material. Full stop. Better ban bananas then. And smoke alarms. > You mean this reactor that Canada shut down: https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Canadian-isotope-reactor-enters-retirement https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Canadian-isotope-rea... Nope, the one at Darlington that just signed a deal a few weeks ago to provide isotopes for medical treatments (which I linked to already, but you failed to notice): > The deal to produce the isotope at Darlington will ease concerns about access to the raw material for TheraSphere, which has been provided to more than 100,000 liver cancer patients worldwide, said Peter Pattison, president of Boston Scientific's interventional oncology franchise in Ottawa. * https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-darlington-nuclear-isotope-yttrium-90-therasphere-1.7135480 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-darlington-nu... See also press release from 2023: * https://www.bwxt.com/bwxt-medical/news/2023/02/01/BWXT-Medical-and-Laurentis-Complete-Key-Tc-99m-Generator-Program-Milestone https://www.bwxt.com/bwxt-medical/news/2023/02/01/BWXT-Medic... Half of the world's Cobalt-60 is produced by Ontario nuclear power generation: > Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Nordion (Canada) Inc. have signed an agreement to expand production of Cobalt-60 to the Darlington Nuclear Station. Currently, approximately 50% of the world’s Cobalt-60 is produced in Ontario. > Cobalt-60 is a life-saving isotope responsible for sterilizing approximately 40% of the world’s single-use medical devices, including syringes, gloves, implants and surgical instruments. It is also used to treat a variety of food and consumer products for the reduction of harmful pathogens. * https://www.nordion.com/darlington-to-become-new-source-of-life-saving-medical-isotope/ https://www.nordion.com/darlington-to-become-new-source-of-l...