Posted on 03/12/2010 11:19:27 AM PST by Pontiac
Dale Klein, Commissioner and former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) challenged the premise on which President Obama based his move to withdraw the application to permit the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. At a conference in Bethesda, Maryland yesterday Commissioner Klein emphasized that it was politics, not science, which led to this decision. Klein said,
Those who would distort the science of Yucca Mountain for political purposes should be reminded that it was a year ago today that the president issued his memorandum on scientific integrity, in which he stated that ‘The public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decisions.’
It’s certainly possible Yucca Mountain is not the answer, but that decision should be left to the NRC, not President Obama and the Department of Energy. Research Fellow Jack Spencer points out that “Nothing in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act authorizes the President or the Secretary of Energy to stop this process. Besides, given that a geologic repository will eventually be needed, the application process will provide the NRC, DOE, and the nuclear industry valuable information to inform future decision-making.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.heritage.org ...
The only reason Obama has cancelled work on the Yucca mountain burial site is that it is in Nevada and Harry Reid is the Senior Senator from Nevada and Harry opposes the Yucca Mountain project.
It’s too bad, it’s a great location for waste.... even considering a rift or two and concerns over aquifers and such..
The only reason Obama has cancelled work on the Yucca mountain burial site is that it is in Nevada and Harry Reid is the Senior Senator from Nevada and Harry opposes the Yucca Mountain project.
You are correct!
In addition, utilities have sued the government for breach of contract. The government is now making periodic payments to the utilities because it has violated the contract. But of course we all know that the government is making the payments with taxpayer money.
There is no place on Earth where the hydrology of a place has been more studied or documented.
If we can’t say with confidence that the ground water is safe from contamination at Yucca mountain then we had better never site another land fill anywhere again.
Rather a money recycling program because they are still collecting money from rate payers under Nuclear Waste Policy Act.
Take two dollars from Peter so you can pay Paul one dollar and pocket one.
Yet he hasn't opposed the $10 billion that has been spent there so far.
obama is the beast of yucca flats!
Dr. Klein is a really sharp engineer and a great guy. He was also my faculty advisor when I was en engineering student at UT Austin 31 years ago
Your screen name brought to mind this thread. .
Dale Klein, Commissioner and former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)... emphasized that it was politics, not science, which led to this decision... "Those who would distort the science of Yucca Mountain for political purposes should be reminded that it was a year ago today that the president issued his memorandum on scientific integrity..."
I have been reading up on the VASMIR system. It looks promising, but there needs to be some serious research on big reactors in space, which means a Saturn 5 class heavy lift booster is needed. Analysis indicates that there will be cooling problems in zero G. The only way to find out is to put one up and run it. I'd love to see it happen. Seeing how the little thermoelectric reactors on the outer planet probes spin the whackos up, a 300 MW big boy might cause their heads to explode......
We can only hope.
The cooling of the reactor in a vacuum is something I had not thought about. When the engine is under thrust it should not be a problem because the propellant will be cooling it. However when the engine is shut down the removal of decay heat will become a problem.
Some way to dispose of waste heat by way of a radiant heat exchanger will be needed. We need a materials science genius about now.
The biggest unknown is the behavior of the gas film over the hot fuel rods in zero/low g. Will there be hot spots where the film breaks contact with the surface? No one knows, and we will not know until we can run a demonstrator system in space.
I agree the technology of heat transfer is well established but I believe advances in material science could produce lighter more efficient radiant heat exchangers. Thus reducing the mass needed to lift in to orbit.
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