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> There is no technological reason to fear the rail shipment of nuclear waste. It is not difficult to engineer enclosures that will withstand the most energetic
by skore 14y ago
> There is no technological reason to fear the rail shipment of nuclear waste. It is not difficult to engineer enclosures that will withstand the most energetic possible train wreck.
Actually, it is difficult and there is considerable dissent over whether the currently used technology is safe enough or as safe as advertised. [1][2]
> And obviously they are well shielded for radiation.
They are shielded, but how well is another that is up for debate. I'm kind of hardlining it saying that any radiation is a problem - the containers are certainly not 100% shielded. Not finding any amount of radiation acceptable is where I seem to be losing most of the people who understand themselves to be pragmatic supporters of nuclear energy in this discussion.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cask_storage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cask_storage
[2] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_(Kerntechnik)#Kritik_an_der_Sicherheit http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_(Kerntechnik)#Kritik_an_...
- ars 14y ago> Not finding any amount of radiation acceptable is where I seem to be losing most of the people who understand themselves to be pragmatic supporters of nuclear energy in this discussion. Because background radiation means we are always exposed to it. So setting a no tolerance policy doesn't make sense. People go to these http://resources.yesican-science.ca/trek/radiation/final/earth_sources.html http://resources.yesican-science.ca/trek/radiation/final/ear... places for a vacation, to enjoy the warmth! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_no-threshold_model http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_no-threshold_model vs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hormesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hormesis
- skore 14y agoGood to know that you're willing to go that far to try to make a point in an argument. Once again: Adding radiation when there are other options is what bothers me.