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I live in the west and drive past dozens of old wells and mines regularly. These are "owned" by companies that went out of business after extracting profits, b

I live in the west and drive past dozens of old wells and mines regularly. These are "owned" by companies that went out of business after extracting profits, but it's unlikely that anyone other than the government will ever have the funding to clean them up. If they ever do get cleaned up. Ocasionally they contaminate vast watersheds. How could folks like me be assured that a similar situation wouldn't happen to all the waste from that proliferation of nuclear technology, in which companies just "vanish" leaving a mess for the rest of us to clean up? Like, a giant rotting solar field isn't a beautiful thing, but at least I am not worried about the cells breaking down and contaminating my water source... am I just wrong that this is a concern?

asdff 1y ago
Spent nuclear fuel at least has some value unlike an old mine or field of trash or petroleum waste. So in some ways cleanup and management of waste is already economically incentivized.
no_wizard 1y ago
the difference is the utility function these things have. If these companies go out of business, there is a market for these things, someone will snatch them up for what would be comparatively cheap. Its not waste or an exhausted natural resource. Alternatively, you could simply have companies pay a small tax that directly funds disposable in the event of a shut down.