3 ms·

Nuclear waste has a density of ~10g/cm^3, so 2000t is about 200m^3. Standard 40’ container has a volume of 59.3m^3, so it’s indeed about 3 to 4 by volume. Of co

by oefrha 2y ago

Nuclear waste has a density of ~10g/cm^3, so 2000t is about 200m^3. Standard 40’ container has a volume of 59.3m^3, so it’s indeed about 3 to 4 by volume. Of course you shouldn’t pack a container full of something so dense when shipping. Anyway it’s a pretty tiny amount of storage space; single family homes are usually larger by volume.

carlmr 2y ago
The more important consideration is we're wasting the waste. It still contains 90% of the fissile energy and we're calling it waste: https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-nuclear-fuel#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20generates%20about%202%2C000,an%20Olympic%2Dsized%20swimming%20pool https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-....
- laurencerowe 2y ago
  The problem with nuclear reprocessing is that it creates more nuclear waste as a byproduct so it only really makes sense when you want to make nuclear weapons.
- pfdietz 2y ago
  That figure is correct only if you consider the energy content of the U-238 in the fuel. But reprocessing fuel to recover U-238 is idiotic: we have loads of U-238 in enrichment plant waste streams, and the material is so cheap they use it as ballast weights in sailboats.
laurencerowe 2y ago
That is just the high level nuclear waste (the spent control rods) which needs to be kept in cooling pools for about a decade before being transferred to dry cask storage. That definitely takes up a lot more space. > Dry cask storage is a method of storing high-level radioactive waste, such as spent nuclear fuel that has already been cooled in a spent fuel pool for at least one year and often as much as ten years. Casks are typically steel cylinders that are either welded or bolted closed. The fuel rods inside are surrounded by inert gas. Ideally, the steel cylinder provides leak-tight containment of the spent fuel. Each cylinder is surrounded by additional steel, concrete, or other material to provide radiation shielding to workers and members of the public. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cask_storage https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cask_storage There’s also a lot of low level nuclear waste which is a pain to deal with (make sure you pick the right brand of kitty litter…) https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/03/26/395615637/official-report-nuclear-waste-accident-caused-by-wrong-kitty-litter https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/03/26/395615637...

by oefrha 2y ago

carlmr 2y ago

The more important consideration is we're wasting the waste. It still contains 90% of the fissile energy and we're calling it waste: https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-nuclear-fuel#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20generates%20about%202%2C000,an%20Olympic%2Dsized%20swimming%20pool https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-....

laurencerowe 2y ago
The problem with nuclear reprocessing is that it creates more nuclear waste as a byproduct so it only really makes sense when you want to make nuclear weapons.
pfdietz 2y ago
That figure is correct only if you consider the energy content of the U-238 in the fuel. But reprocessing fuel to recover U-238 is idiotic: we have loads of U-238 in enrichment plant waste streams, and the material is so cheap they use it as ballast weights in sailboats.

laurencerowe 2y ago

That is just the high level nuclear waste (the spent control rods) which needs to be kept in cooling pools for about a decade before being transferred to dry cask storage. That definitely takes up a lot more space. > Dry cask storage is a method of storing high-level radioactive waste, such as spent nuclear fuel that has already been cooled in a spent fuel pool for at least one year and often as much as ten years. Casks are typically steel cylinders that are either welded or bolted closed. The fuel rods inside are surrounded by inert gas. Ideally, the steel cylinder provides leak-tight containment of the spent fuel. Each cylinder is surrounded by additional steel, concrete, or other material to provide radiation shielding to workers and members of the public. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cask_storage https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cask_storage There’s also a lot of low level nuclear waste which is a pain to deal with (make sure you pick the right brand of kitty litter…) https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/03/26/395615637/official-report-nuclear-waste-accident-caused-by-wrong-kitty-litter https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/03/26/395615637...