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by tronje 3363 days ago
Nobody has mentioned nuclear waste disposal as far as I can tell. Everybody is basically saying "yeah, as long as we avoid explosions, nuclear is great", but has disposal been solved? Or is it not as big of a problem as I'm thinking?
2 comments
adrianN 3363 days ago
It's not as big of a problem as you're thinking. "Waste" can be used in breeder reactors to generate energy. This burns up >90% of the material. The remainder decays relatively quickly, not over geological time scales. Volume wise it's really not much. The entire nuclear industry so far has produced less than a 100kT of waste, a cube with a side length of about 30 meters. This is before putting the stuff in a breeder reactor.
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Ericson2314 3363 days ago
> a cube with a side length of about 30 meters.

This is what annoys me so much. We fuck over a cubic mile and never have to worry about energy for like a million years.

[ ((1 mile)^3) / ((30 meters)^3) = 154 377.105 according to google ]

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Recurecur 3363 days ago
One bright spot on the disposal front is that Yucca Mountain should finally open soon - Harry Reid is gone from the senate and momentum is building.

That is a very good thing!

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