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Waste management has been solved problem. "A number of mercury, cyanide and arsenic waste repositories are operating worldwide including Canada (Giant Mine) an

Waste management has been solved problem. "A number of mercury, cyanide and arsenic waste repositories are operating worldwide including Canada (Giant Mine) and Germany (potash mines in Herfa-Neurode and Zielitz). Radioactive waste storage sites are under construction with the Onkalo in Finland being the most advanced." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_geological_repository https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_geological_repository "The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, in New Mexico, US, is a deep geological repository licensed to store transuranic radioactive waste for 10,000 years." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Isolation_Pilot_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Isolation_Pilot_Plant But for political reasons it's used only for military nuclear high level waste. For Europe I don't see a reason why each country needs a nuclear waste repository. High level nuclear waste is very small and French nuclear waste from light water reactors is no different from Swiss nuclear waste or Swedish, German, Spanish. (U.K. Magnox fuel rods are different and have special storage requirements). Single waste repository in Finland, Sweden or Norway would be enough, they have lot of old granite and very stable geology.

lukan 4mo ago
"For Europe I don't see a reason why each country needs a nuclear waste repository." Because apparently no country wants to be the dumpster for the radioactive waste of the others? I wonder why that is, when it is a solved problem.
- wahnfrieden 4mo ago
  Because it’s not a solved problem and people saying so are repeating propaganda
  - Saline9515 4mo ago
    In many cases disposing of it isn't really a good idea as we can reuse the fuel in the future.
  - herewulf 4mo ago
    Thus spake the fossil fuel lobby.
  - Moldoteck 4mo ago
    please spare us from this nonsense. Waste can be stored in facilities like Onkalo just like we do for many others type of waste, for example in Herfa Neurode
- tempest_ 4mo ago
  I don't think people appreciate how much power comes from such a small amount of waste. The largest plant near me has been operating for > 50 years and the waste is still kept on site though I believe they are working on another solution.
- LtdJorge 4mo ago
  Most plants don't need anything special for waste management. They just put it in dry cask storage and leave those in the outside. Ironically, there's less background radiation around the casks than away from them, since they are so shielded you also get shielded from part of the background radiation too.
  - gambiting 4mo ago
    In Netherlands there is a nuclear energy museum where you can literally walk around spent fuel casks.
    - leonidasrup 4mo ago
      It not like everyone can walk in and out as he wants. But a tour can be arranged in advance. This are controled facilities. https://prinsfrank.nl/2022/09/12/Visiting-the-only-nuclear-waste-storage-facility-of-the-Netherlands https://prinsfrank.nl/2022/09/12/Visiting-the-only-nuclear-w...
frollogaston 4mo ago
Every time someone mentions a year where nuclear started being "safe," I find an incident after that year where radioactive or otherwise toxic materials were leaked into the surrounding environment, plus plenty of near misses. Broader than waste though. Maybe focus on how the likely alternatives are worse. The world isn't going to run completely on renewables, and coal puts surefire poison AND radioactive isotopes into the air.
- Saline9515 4mo ago
  While there are problems, I think that you should compare with alternative technologies to be fair. For instance, coal used in Germany and China actually releases more radioactive material than nuclear! A great perk of nuclear waste s that it's so small compared to the power produced, it's way easier to dispose and manage, than, say, expired wind turbines (which aren't recycled currently and take a massive amount of space).
- dani__german 4mo ago
  If automotive was regulated like nuclear, then any car crash would result in all cars being sent to the scrap heap forever.
  - frollogaston 4mo ago
    If nuclear were regulated like automotive, they'd let me run a reactor with minimal training at age 16, and the emissions inspector would be bribeable with $500. Well same with coal.
- roenxi 4mo ago
  > find an incident after that year where radioactive or otherwise toxic materials were leaked into the surrounding environment That is what safe looks like, nobody said perfect. It's like how cars are death traps but people can still reasonably call them "safe". You could do the same thing for solar panels but for the fact it isn't newsworthy if there is some toxic sludge in some dump somewhere is associated with solar panels. There might not be any material that we produce on an industrial scale that doesn't leak hazardous or toxic chemicals. I looked up concrete [0] to find out what it's problem was, and it turns out concrete leaks toxic and radioactive materials into the environment because turns out natural rock is sometimes radioactive. Concrete is nonetheless pretty safe stuff. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concrete#Toxic_and_radioactive_contamination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concre...

lukan 4mo ago

"For Europe I don't see a reason why each country needs a nuclear waste repository." Because apparently no country wants to be the dumpster for the radioactive waste of the others? I wonder why that is, when it is a solved problem.

wahnfrieden 4mo ago
Because it’s not a solved problem and people saying so are repeating propaganda
- Saline9515 4mo ago
  In many cases disposing of it isn't really a good idea as we can reuse the fuel in the future.
- herewulf 4mo ago
  Thus spake the fossil fuel lobby.
- Moldoteck 4mo ago
  please spare us from this nonsense. Waste can be stored in facilities like Onkalo just like we do for many others type of waste, for example in Herfa Neurode
tempest_ 4mo ago
I don't think people appreciate how much power comes from such a small amount of waste. The largest plant near me has been operating for > 50 years and the waste is still kept on site though I believe they are working on another solution.
LtdJorge 4mo ago
Most plants don't need anything special for waste management. They just put it in dry cask storage and leave those in the outside. Ironically, there's less background radiation around the casks than away from them, since they are so shielded you also get shielded from part of the background radiation too.
- gambiting 4mo ago
  In Netherlands there is a nuclear energy museum where you can literally walk around spent fuel casks.
  - leonidasrup 4mo ago
    It not like everyone can walk in and out as he wants. But a tour can be arranged in advance. This are controled facilities. https://prinsfrank.nl/2022/09/12/Visiting-the-only-nuclear-waste-storage-facility-of-the-Netherlands https://prinsfrank.nl/2022/09/12/Visiting-the-only-nuclear-w...

frollogaston 4mo ago

Every time someone mentions a year where nuclear started being "safe," I find an incident after that year where radioactive or otherwise toxic materials were leaked into the surrounding environment, plus plenty of near misses. Broader than waste though. Maybe focus on how the likely alternatives are worse. The world isn't going to run completely on renewables, and coal puts surefire poison AND radioactive isotopes into the air.

Saline9515 4mo ago
While there are problems, I think that you should compare with alternative technologies to be fair. For instance, coal used in Germany and China actually releases more radioactive material than nuclear! A great perk of nuclear waste s that it's so small compared to the power produced, it's way easier to dispose and manage, than, say, expired wind turbines (which aren't recycled currently and take a massive amount of space).
dani__german 4mo ago
If automotive was regulated like nuclear, then any car crash would result in all cars being sent to the scrap heap forever.
- frollogaston 4mo ago
  If nuclear were regulated like automotive, they'd let me run a reactor with minimal training at age 16, and the emissions inspector would be bribeable with $500. Well same with coal.
roenxi 4mo ago
> find an incident after that year where radioactive or otherwise toxic materials were leaked into the surrounding environment That is what safe looks like, nobody said perfect. It's like how cars are death traps but people can still reasonably call them "safe". You could do the same thing for solar panels but for the fact it isn't newsworthy if there is some toxic sludge in some dump somewhere is associated with solar panels. There might not be any material that we produce on an industrial scale that doesn't leak hazardous or toxic chemicals. I looked up concrete [0] to find out what it's problem was, and it turns out concrete leaks toxic and radioactive materials into the environment because turns out natural rock is sometimes radioactive. Concrete is nonetheless pretty safe stuff. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concrete#Toxic_and_radioactive_contamination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concre...