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04/26/2004: "Nuclear Waste"
Alex posted a fine little rant about nuclear power. His post, in full (bad words modified):
Nuclear Disasters
OK, guys, I don't get serious with this thing very often, but today's a big deal. My time to rail on the [dumb] scientists who invent nuclear power and forget about what happens if they aren't so perfect and screw up once in a while. On this date in 1986, Chernobyl blew up and created a "dead zone" in Europe. The result: 3500 people refuse to leave their homes, and only 400 remain. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT [mess] with nuclear power or nuclear reactors. Thanks to the genius of science, there's a place that cannot be inhabited for 600 years. Imagine what happens WHEN this thing gets out of control, like when the radioactive waste that the U.S. threw out into BURIED concrete basements and didn't mark them leaks into the ground. Some of the more toxic waste has a half-life of some 30,000 years. The concrete lasts for 100. Do the math. In case you didn't know, it's also completely legal to dump barrels of radioactive waste into the ocean at will. One reason I don't really have an appetite for tuna. That, and the Three Mile Island incident hits home, with me living in PA. I could not have been living where I am today had that thing had gotten any worse. Now my Penn State has a nuclear reactor for its nuclear science people. Yeah, there's still a future in it. I feel so safe. If any disasters of that magnitude occurred in any other industry, it would've been halted IMMEDIATELY. But no. It's science, and science is an excuse to [mess] things up in the name of progress.
Anyhow, I hope you find this site interesting. This woman documents her adventures into the "dead zone."
# randomly splattered on a blog by Alex @ 4/25/2004 11:58:46 PM
Sounds like Pandora and her box.
Frankly, I wouldn't worry about PSU as much as I'd worry about North Korea. I do agree that it is not smart to keep nuclear waste in 100 year bunkers. And don't forget about missing fuel rods.
But we do need electricity. There are only so many places we can build dams or wind farms; only so many places we can erect solar panels. While nuclear power may produce toxic waste, it does produce concentrated waste. Nuclear power does not pollute the air or water. I think we can handle nuclear waste in Yucca, Nevada (geologically stable). I can also understand storing nuclear waste in salt mines (chemically stable) or at the bottom of the ocean (nothing moves down there).
Whatever the case, please realize that politics matter. I like to say that politics is too important to leave to politicians. As you said, political mishandling of nuclear waste could lead to dire consequences. So could political mishandling of North Korea or terrorism.
And also please realize that the last thing in Pandora's box was hope.
