Nuclear Power, Radiation

by **PudriK** » Sat May 29, 2004 12:31 pm

CodeRed, because the the costs for sending anything to low-earth orbit, let alone to earth escape velocity, are exorbitant compared to almost anything else.

PS From the Heritage Foundation, found the current cost to put one pound in orbit is $10K.

From http://www.nucleartourist.com:
Currently most spent fuel is being stored (over 29,000 metric tons) at the reactor sites. Very little (~750 tons) is being stored at 3 other storage facilities (West Valley, Morris Fuel Reprocessing Plant, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory). In 1977, the reprocessing option was disallowed by President Carter because of concern about nuclear proliferation.... Typically a 1000 MWe reactor will discharge about 2 metric tons of high level waste each refueling.

A metric ton is 2,204 lbs, so the cost to send the spent fuel from one reactor refuling into low-earth orbit would be about $44 million dollars.

In order to send it to the sun, you would have to lift not only the waste, but also the fuel necessary to escape earth's gravity and put it on a sun intercept (which is a lot).

by **Chacal** » Sat May 29, 2004 2:15 pm

Originally posted by CodeRed68
Seriously, I know you are all laughing and this sounds crazy, but why not.

No no, we're considering your proposition with extreme seriousness.

by **Chacal** » Sat May 29, 2004 2:20 pm

Originally posted by Colonel Ingus

Here's a really good link from James Lovelock, he has extensive credentials and is the creator of the GAIA Hypothesis and an ardent environmentalist.

http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=524230

Er, Colonel, what Lovelock says is it's better to use nuclear energy than to go on burning fossil fuel, because of global warming. But earlier you gave us links to other articles that say global warming is myth.

Does that mean we don't have to go nuclear after all?

by **LordShard** » Sat May 29, 2004 3:39 pm

Originally posted by CodeRed68
I don't understand why we don't just take all the waste, be it nuclear or just plain old trash from landfills, and ship it into the sun. Seriously, I know you are all laughing and this sounds crazy, but why not. Before it even got close the sun would vaporize this stuff. The sun can vaporize a planet like a mosquito.
It doesn't have to get there quickly so we don't need powerful rockets (except to leave the atmosphere), we could just build huge cargo vessels of all the trash and send it on it's way.
That's what I think.

Rocket go boom and scatter radioactive wastes across a whole hemisphere.

by **ShellShock** » Sat May 29, 2004 4:32 pm

Originally posted by CodeRed68
That's great Ingus. I have long supported nuclear energy and dont understand why we continue to use fossil fuels and carcinogen creating power plants that poisen our atmosphere. Nuclear power is the future.
All this anti-nuclear rhetoric is born out of the age of the atomic bomb and that is what people relate to when they hear the word "nuclear".

Well not really, there's only about 25 years worth of uranium in the Earth (assuming we start depending all our energy needs on nuclear power). And the left over waste has a half-life of several thousands years, which makes it an expensive pain to dispose of.
The real future is in nuclear fusion...when and if that ever gets perfected.

by **Colonel Ingus** » Sat May 29, 2004 4:49 pm

Actually Chacal what I gave links to says we don't understand the process so going off half cocked in "lowering our carbon" is no solution.

In fact well over 97% of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is H2O. Water vapor. Should we stop using water also?

There is an even easier and cheaper method to dispose of waste if you want to do it. I don't for the same reason I am oppossed to shooting into the sun but I'll explain that later.

Simply build a pressure proof container and drop it to the bottom of the Mindanao deep. This is a subduction fold in the Pacific and Mother Nature will simply drag it underground and reprocess it in the mantle. No muss No fuss. It's already part of the Earth and putting it down there keeps it far away from anywhere human beings will ever be.

You could do that with a lot of waste and scrap. When you are talking about doing this the Earth is the greatest recycler of all.

We could even incorporate SavageParrot's dandy idea! Toss them down there also! And anyone who has ever had anything to do with Reality TV!

I personally am oppossed to this because sometime we might need the waste. Someone someday is going to come up with a dandy use for all that nuclear material and if we put it where we can't get at it... well that would be just plain silly now wouldn't it.

Used to be they had all this glop left over from processing crude oil into fuel and lubricants. Nobody knew what to do with the ugly stuff. Now they make plastic out of it.

Chacal does make a very good point though. The problem with Nuclear energy isn't in the science. Its in the design. You let Vinnie "the fish" Gambini and his "Union" construction company with their "Taxes" and resale of construction material make the plants and then we have problems.

But that touches on social issues and science has yet to solve that. If ever.

by **LordShard** » Sat May 29, 2004 5:39 pm

>.>

human is killed at 400 rotkens per hour

chicken is killed at 1000-1500 rotkens per hour

roach is killed at 100,000-500,000 rotkens per hour.

by **Dakana** » Sun May 30, 2004 10:28 am

Which is why roaches will rule our planet after WW3.

by **PudriK** » Sun May 30, 2004 11:56 am

Anyone ever seen the movie "The Day After"? Just rented it the other day. Not "The Day After Tomorrow" showing now (that's another fun one to discuss), "The Day After" highlights a small town outside Kansas City before and after a nuclear strike. It was made for TV, so the special effects and acting aren't that great, but the story is pretty good, and it seems to me a pretty good portrayal of the effects of nuclear war. Stars include Jason Robards, John Lithgow, and... Steve Guttenberg!

Anyway, anyone also seen "The Day After Tomorrow" yet? It's such a piece of environmental propaganda, it's funny. Believe me, if you are refusing to see it because of this... your missing a good laugh.

Oh yeah, and they burn books!

by **Chacal** » Sun May 30, 2004 12:21 pm

Originally posted by Dakana
Which is why roaches will rule our planet after WW3.

They rule it as we speak. But after WW3 they won't have to wear neckties or get elected anymore.

by **Colonel Ingus** » Sun May 30, 2004 1:12 pm

Chacal that was an insult to disgusting disease spreading pesterous insects everywhere!:D

Nuclear Power, Radiation

Who is online