in response to some stuff on facebook, about nuclear power in oklahoma, and maybe putting it somewhere out in the desert:

the problem is nuclear waste stays dangerous for 10,000 plus years. We’re talking geologic time here. There’s barely anything manmade left from 10000 years ago, much less a solid intact structure. It’s a fool’s gambit to put this stuff in a salt mine or inside a mountain because any number of unforeseen events could leak the waste into the biosphere.

Of course, the waste is only a small part of the overall problem of radioactivity. People talk about Chernobyl and Three mile island as if they were the only nuclear accidents to ever happen, but actually they happen more frequently than you’d like to think. see wikipedia for more examples, although I’m sure that list is incomplete. These are built by the lowest bidder, remember.

“Support in the short term” is like saying ok, a little poison is all right. This stuff is so toxic (before, during and after use) that we build ten foot concrete walls around it, then put more security and perimeters around that, and then beyond that is a line where you don’t have to wear a dosimeter any more. There are workers in some facilities who can never leave, because they themselves were irradiated so much that they are toxic to the outside world. (I have a feeling that they don’t last long like this).

edit to add: the article from the oklahoman. Seems there aren’t any real plans, just some legislators getting their panties in a bunch. 8 to ten years until they become operational is another problem for an “interim” solution.

Posted by Matt on 2009-01-27T00:00:00Z GMT