Nuclear power still isn't safe

I don't know how many knowledgable people consider fission power production renewable, it's clearly not. However, reprocessing of spent fuel combined with the use of breeder reactors (create at least as much fuel as they consume) essentially makes it limitless, as well as removing long half life actinides from the spent fuel. This takes long-term spent fuel storage required from the scale of hundreds of thousands of years down to a scale of hundreds of years, making it much more feasible. Also, you shouldn't be so broad in your condemnation of nuclear power. Nuclear fusion research is progressing rapidly and, if it is put into action, shares none of the major problems of its fission counterpart. The fuel for fusion (deuterium) is present in seawater and there are no waste issues associated with fusion byproducts. Check out ITER being constructed in France.

I have read alot about nuclear energy being used and I am optimistic. Don't close the door on this renewable resource from fear.

How many people have been killed in the US by accidents at nuclear plants? I'm not talking last year or the year before, but in all of US nuclear history. I've worked at nuclear plants all up and down the east coast, and in all my time have only seen one person seriously injured. And that incident happened because the guy was doing something stupid. To discourage nuclear power because of what happened at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl is ridiculous! That would be like saying that technology and safety policies and procedures have not gotten better over the course of the 30 years since TMI. Not sure what the policies and procedures are like in Russia, but in the US they are very strict.

uh-yeah wrote:

How many people have been killed in the US by accidents at nuclear plants?

About eleven. One guy fell while working on the cooling tower at Davis-Besse. One guy was crushed to death by a radiation detector. Another guy was killed when his anti-C sleeve got caught in a lathe. Eight were killed at Surrey when a steam pipe ruptured. Nothing like the Buffalo Creek flood or the New London TX explosion.

Nuclear power is the way to go. The auther does not know what he's talking about. Let's get real.Nuclear power has been safe for decades and the NRC has not taken a holiday. They are safe and the new ones will be safer. The question should be why is the rset of the world going nuclear & we are still in the dark ages?
The other question should be, Why is the cost of a Nuclear plant so much more in the US than else where?
Is it because of the different hoops that were put in place to make them cost to much to build?

well poster... neither is sex...

Janet wrote:

<quoted text>About eleven. One guy fell while working on the cooling tower at Davis-Besse. One guy was crushed to death by a radiation detector. Another guy was killed when his anti-C sleeve got caught in a lathe. Eight were killed at Surrey when a steam pipe ruptured. Nothing like the Buffalo Creek flood or the New London TX explosion.

Radiation is the fear people have with nuclear power. Like any other industry the nuclear industry is not exempt from the run of the mill accidents. When statistics are cited of no deaths or injuries in 40 years the statement also should include the words, "from accidents involving radiation".

Janet wrote:

<quoted text>About eleven. One guy fell while working on the cooling tower at Davis-Besse. One guy was crushed to death by a radiation detector. Another guy was killed when his anti-C sleeve got caught in a lathe. Eight were killed at Surrey when a steam pipe ruptured. Nothing like the Buffalo Creek flood or the New London TX explosion.

While those eleven deaths are tragic, I believe there are a greater number of oil and coal related deaths.

uh-yeah wrote:

While those eleven deaths are tragic, I believe there are a greater number of oil and coal related deaths.

Indeed there are. The Buffalo Creek coal mining flood killed about 160 people in their homes. The New London, TX natural gas explosion killed about 430 people, almost all of them children.

John wrote:

<quoted text>
Radiation is the fear people have with nuclear power. Like any other industry the nuclear industry is not exempt from the run of the mill accidents. When statistics are cited of no deaths or injuries in 40 years the statement also should include the words, "from accidents involving radiation".

I think the fear of terrorism dwarfs the fear of radiation these days. Time to cut our losses and go with a local product.

Hey people from VA, GA. How is your drought problem going? I can live without power but nobody can live without water.

The Palmer Drought Severity Index
Minus 2: Moderate drought
Minus 3: Severe drought
Minus 4: Extreme drought

http://www.vaemergency.com/threats/drought/ba...

Drought cant cool wrote:

Hey people from VA, GA. How is your drought problem going? I can live without power but nobody can live without water.
The Palmer Drought Severity Index
Minus 2: Moderate drought
Minus 3: Severe drought
Minus 4: Extreme drought
http://www.vaemergency.com/threats/drought/ba...

Off-topic much? We've gotten quite a bit of rain in VA this year. Not sure about GA though.

Drought cant cool wrote:

Hey people from VA, GA. How is your drought problem going? I can live without power but nobody can live without water.

But we can use power to make drinking water.

Koz wrote:

<quoted text>But we can use power to make drinking water.

Not if thier is no cooling water for power. Even France went offline for awhile. In case you don't know power plants not just Nuclear need alot of fresh water. And as much as 70 percent evaporants after cooling.

For each kWh electrical output, at 33% thermal efficiency 7.3 MJ of heat needs to be dumped. At 36% thermal efficiency 6.4 MJ is dumped. With latent heat of vaporization 2.26 MJ/L, this gives rise to 3.2 litres or 2.8 litres per kWh respectively evaporated if all the cooling effect is simply evaporative. This would amount to 77 or 67 megalitres per day respectively for a 1000 MWe plant if all cooling were evaporative only. In practice, about 60-75% is evaporative, depending on atmospheric factors.

Of course, if you can dump the heat straight into air, or even better in an ocean or lake...

The problem with Nuke power in this country is that we really haven't hit the right design and standardized on it. It's a shame the French have done just that and we've got our heads buried deep in corporate ass.

The Problem wrote:

It's a shame the French have done just that and we've got our heads buried deep in corporate ass.

July 11, 2008 09:25pm
Article from: AAPFont size:+-
Send this article: Print Email
FRENCH authorities have ordered the temporary closure of a nuclear treatment plant in a popular tourist region of southern France after a uranium leak polluted the local water supply.

Site operator Socatri, a subsidiary of French nuclear giant Areva, was ordered to suspend all activities at the Tricastin treatment facility in the Vaucluse region and beef up safety at the plant, according to a statement from the ASN safety authority.

Local residents have been told not to drink water or eat fish from nearby rivers since the leak on Monday night, in which 75kg of untreated liquid uranium spilled into the ground.

Swimming and water sports were also forbidden as was irrigation of crops with the contaminated water.

Drought cant cool wrote:

<quoted text>July 11, 2008 09:25pm
Article from: AAPFont size:+-
Send this article: Print Email
FRENCH authorities have ordered the temporary closure of a nuclear treatment plant in a popular tourist region of southern France after a uranium leak polluted the local water supply.
Site operator Socatri, a subsidiary of French nuclear giant Areva, was ordered to suspend all activities at the Tricastin treatment facility in the Vaucluse region and beef up safety at the plant, according to a statement from the ASN safety authority.
Local residents have been told not to drink water or eat fish from nearby rivers since the leak on Monday night, in which 75kg of untreated liquid uranium spilled into the ground.
Swimming and water sports were also forbidden as was irrigation of crops with the contaminated water.

What do you expect? This is the country that builds Renaults!

Drought cant cool wrote:

Not if thier is no cooling water for power. Even France went offline for awhile.

France didn't go offline, just a few of their power plants. Nuclear plants can run just fine with salt water.