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Slims · 07-09-2007, 05:08 PM

It is true that uranium reserves are technically being consumed, but we are using so little in relation to the quantity available that it can be considered a non-depletable energy source.

Also, by allowing nuclear reprocessing again in the united states we can drastically reduce the nuclear waste problem...fuel rods/pellets/etc. are pulled when only a small amount of the fissile material has been expended. If we were allowed to once again extract that material and put it back in the reactors, far less net waste would be produced, and what was left over would be less radioactive.

Nuclear power is far safer than coal, produces less radioactive waste than coal (carbon holds a lot of isotopes which are released into the air via smoke or into rivers via coal slag), and is cheaper. How many coal miners do you think die every year? Ever hear about a uranium mine accident? Didn't think so.

The costs of building and decomissioning nuclear plants is very high, but they are, I believe, cheaper to operate per megawatt, than coal plants.

There has essentially been a moratorium on new nuclear power plants in the United States for many years now. This is due to ignorance and fear on behalf of our wonderfull lawmakers and *gasp* the masses as well.

I remember when they shut down the research reactor at Brookhaven because word got out that there was a *gasp* radiation leak.

What actually leaked was a small amount of tritium, which is just hydrogen with an extra neutron and is not particularly harmfull to people...Unlike uranium or plutonium, which are heavy metals, tritium is not concentrated in any one part of the body and is quickly flushed out of the body via urine. It also has a short half life and so becomes less of a problem very quickly.

An investigation concluded that a very small amount of tritium had in fact leaked. It also concluded that the leak was not harmful in any way to anything or anyone, and that the pool that leaked could be repaired to prevent leaks in the future.

But, do to mass protests and idiocy, congress did not allow the plant to open for at least three years, and keeping the plant on standby was hugely expensive so eventually the luddites won and the plant was closed permanently.

This reactor was hugely important for medical research and treatments and it was saving lives every day. But due to unfounded hysteria about a non-threat, it was closed.

I know progress energy is beginning to look at building another nuke plant, and perhaps it is a sign that people are realizing that nuclear power is really the only viable alternative energy right now...overall it is cheap, it is zero emission, and it is very safe.

07-09-2007, 05:08 PM	#18 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	It is true that uranium reserves are technically being consumed, but we are using so little in relation to the quantity available that it can be considered a non-depletable energy source. Also, by allowing nuclear reprocessing again in the united states we can drastically reduce the nuclear waste problem...fuel rods/pellets/etc. are pulled when only a small amount of the fissile material has been expended. If we were allowed to once again extract that material and put it back in the reactors, far less net waste would be produced, and what was left over would be less radioactive. Nuclear power is far safer than coal, produces less radioactive waste than coal (carbon holds a lot of isotopes which are released into the air via smoke or into rivers via coal slag), and is cheaper. How many coal miners do you think die every year? Ever hear about a uranium mine accident? Didn't think so. The costs of building and decomissioning nuclear plants is very high, but they are, I believe, cheaper to operate per megawatt, than coal plants. There has essentially been a moratorium on new nuclear power plants in the United States for many years now. This is due to ignorance and fear on behalf of our wonderfull lawmakers and gasp the masses as well. I remember when they shut down the research reactor at Brookhaven because word got out that there was a gasp radiation leak. What actually leaked was a small amount of tritium, which is just hydrogen with an extra neutron and is not particularly harmfull to people...Unlike uranium or plutonium, which are heavy metals, tritium is not concentrated in any one part of the body and is quickly flushed out of the body via urine. It also has a short half life and so becomes less of a problem very quickly. An investigation concluded that a very small amount of tritium had in fact leaked. It also concluded that the leak was not harmful in any way to anything or anyone, and that the pool that leaked could be repaired to prevent leaks in the future. But, do to mass protests and idiocy, congress did not allow the plant to open for at least three years, and keeping the plant on standby was hugely expensive so eventually the luddites won and the plant was closed permanently. This reactor was hugely important for medical research and treatments and it was saving lives every day. But due to unfounded hysteria about a non-threat, it was closed. I know progress energy is beginning to look at building another nuke plant, and perhaps it is a sign that people are realizing that nuclear power is really the only viable alternative energy right now...overall it is cheap, it is zero emission, and it is very safe. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence