Posted on 06/16/2002 4:47:38 AM PDT by 2Trievers
Edited on 09/03/2002 4:50:40 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
AMARGOSA VALLEY, NEV. - The government assured locals that the spectacle at the Nevada Test Site was safe - installing park benches and inviting them to come close, sit, enjoy.
And they would - families with sandwiches and thermoses of Kool-Aid would marvel at their front-row view of the bright flashes, the heat and the mushroom clouds of the government's nuclear test explosions.
That was more than 40 years ago, before the dangers of nuclear fallout were widely known.
(Excerpt) Read more at ctnow.com ...
Here's a little info on other countries and companies which recycle nuclear waste:
US Nuclear Power Debate
... The Bush administration also wants to explore new technology to recycle nuclear
fuel, increasing its efficiency and possibly reducing its danger. ...
Other info:
Numatec - the Tri-Cities' 'French connection'
... Numatec other parent is Cogema, the owner and operator of facilities used to produce
and recycle nuclear fuel, including many designed and built by SGN. ...
Nuclear Electricity
... gas equivalent). • Uranium offers a long-term source of energy. Unlike
fossil fuels, we can recycle nuclear fuel. We can recover ...
[MMA Alumni] Helping out MMA Nuclear Employed Alumni
... Many MMA Grads are employed in the Nuclear Power industry, ever since President Carter
killed the national plans to recycle nuclear fuel as was always intended ...
[PDF] U. S. Nuclear Waste Policy: Reaching Critical Mass
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
... An Aside: Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Overseas In addition to the United States,
only two other countries don't recycle nuclear fuel as a matter of national ...
Salon.com Technology | Nukes now!
... Other countries, such as Japan and France -- which gets about 80 percent of its
electricity from nuclear power -- recycle nuclear fuel, but President Ford ...
Here's a little info on other countries and companies which recycle nuclear waste"
Good old boy James Earl Carter put an end to that idea in 1978. Not that reprocessing wouldn't be fought tooth and nail by the loony left. The other question is where do we put the reprocessing plant? That fight will last the rest of my life, and a good deal after that. These plants are nasty, ever seen the DOE plant at Idaho Falls? I particularly like the nitric acid clouds in the morning.
Simple in concept, strip out the remaining fissile material for reuse. Triple vitrify the remaining slurry. The slurry is combined with silica and fused to stabilize it and the placed in two layers of lead glass, each about an inch and a half thick. Then the assembly is covered in an inch of flint glass, for chemical resistance. Then place this stuff in Yucca Mountain makes the most sense.
Like I said, where do you site this thing, at Yucca gets my vote. One hell of a fight is brewing over this stuff, and my station has over 1000 tons of spend fuel, not counting the cladding and other fuel assembly components that are screaming hot with activation daughters. As with the current plan, I see a major battle over just moving this stuff, from the plants to wherever it is going.
Do you have nuke power on/near the island? Our plants are a mess; one decommissioned near me in constant controversy. &;-)
Plant Hatch - Southern Nuclear - Southern Company
... Plant Hatch is one of Georgia Power's two nuclear facilities and is
one of three nuclear facilities in the Southern electric system. ...
Description: Located near Baxley in southeastern Georgia, plant Hatch is one of Georgia Power's two nuclear facilities...
and has always been a good neighbor- I can't recall any problems, offhand. The local powerplant, McManus, used to be the main supplier in the area but has recently been used as a peaker plant. Both the pulp mill & Hercules have some limited power-generation capacity- their waste steam runs small turbine plants, mostly for internal use, but they are hooked into the power grid.
Public Citizen--www.citizen.org/cmep and Nuclear Information & Resource Service--www.nirs.org. I didn't talk to them, but wish I had the opportunity to ask them just exactly what their solution might be. Their pamphlet doesn't suggest any viable alternatives.
These folks always need a cause celeb to rally around & give them something to chatter about, rail against, and do...
Silly to bury it in one of the most god-forsaken pieces of real-estate in the world, a thousand feet down, vitrified and encased in stainless steel casks, guarded and behind multiple layers of security and alarm systems. Who ever would dream of such a ridiculous scheme. Hell, let's adopt Robert Heinlein's idea and make coins out of the high-level waste! That's the ticket...
What bilge.
--Boris
http://www.tray.com/
http://www.opensecrets.org/
http://www.issues2000.org/
http://www.activistcash.com
http://www.consumerfreedom.com
Public Citizen and Nuclear Information & Resource Service
Darn it, gotta run!
Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program works to protect citizens and the environment from the dangers posed by nuclear power and seeks policies that will lead to safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy. We also advocate creation of an agricultural and food distribution system that guarantees safe, wholesome food produced in a humane and sustainable manner, and work to protect the world's fragile water resources from commodification, privatization, and mass diversion.
They are based in D.C.--haven't checked the other site yet.
http://www.nirs.org--check it out.
Welcome to Nuclear Information and Resource Service & World Information Service on Energy NIRS/WISE is the information and networking center for citizens and environmental organizations concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation, and sustainable energy issues. We're located at 1424 16th Street NW, #404, Washington, DC 20036; 202-328-0002; fax: 202-462-2183; e-mail nirsnet@nirs.org Our Amsterdam office is at P.O. Box 59636, 1040 LC Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 31-20-6126368; fax: 31-20-6892179;
Electricity Production
Number of nuclear units: 2
Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 1 and Unit 2
Russellville, Ark.
Nuclear energy supplies 26.7 percent of Arkansas' electricity.
Clean Air Benefits
Nuclear energy in Arkansas emits no harmful gases into the environment, avoiding emissions that would have been produced by other energy sources used for baseload electricity generation. During 2000, Arkansas' nuclear power plants avoided approximately 63,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, 32,000 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions, and 2.69 million metric tons of carbon emissions. Avoiding these additional emissions is particularly important to areas that are experiencing air quality problems due to traffic and industry.
Payments for Waste Disposal
Since 1983, consumers of electricity from Arkansas, nuclear plants have committed over $426.4 million into the federal Nuclear Waste Fund to finance nuclear waste management.
Used fuel at Arkansas Nuclear One is being temporarily stored in water-filled vaults. Entergy, owner of Arkansas Nuclear One, is in the process of making plans for dry cask storage for the plant.
You could be in deep doo-doo for that comment FRiend. When you have a chance to view those sites, give me your thoughts.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.