No safe nuclear disposal, no more nukes
While President Bush continues to try to rejuvenate the nuclear power industry, at taxpayer expense, of course, a NY Times story Sunday dramatically illustrates why that vision remains problematic.
There is still no safe, long-term method to dispose of the deadly waste generated by nuclear power plants, and we keep producing more of it every day.
With the proposed Yucca Mountain site looking more like it won't happen, the latest great idea is to keep the waste in storage casks around the country. That is reminiscent of the pipe dream 25 years ago that the waste would somehow be fused into glass cubes that you could safely just tuck under your coffee table.
Some of the waste is so deadly and has such a long half-life that it needs to be kept out of the environment for 250,000 years. Storage casks just won't cut it.
The message to the government and the industry must be clear, and apparently needs to be repeated: No safe disposal? No more nukes.
NYT story.
posted by xoff @ 8:40 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I hear this same tired argument over and over again from nuclear power opponents. Every time I hear it, I give the same response:
Build waste reprocessing facilities.
Nearly 90 percent of the waste produced by nuke plants can be recycled and used again as fuel. Japan, France, and some other countries already do this. Had we not scrapped plans for such facilities back in the 80s, we likely wouldn't need the Yucca mountain today. However, nuclear fear-mongers and their rhetoric had their way with the public and thus compounded the problem. Fortunately, people are starting to wise up and learn the truth.
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