news.bbc.co.uk — Nuclear power has a key part to play in providing the UK with reliable, low carbon electricity in the future, argues Peter Bleasdale. In this week's Green Room, he says a new National Nuclear Laboratory will provide the research and training needed after decades of neglect and decline.
May 25, 2008 View in Crawl 4
nick111May 26, 2008
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fgsfdsMay 26, 2008
The bulk of our waste is low-level waste that's basically harmless.The bulk of our high-level operating waste is usable fuel isotopes. 'Depleted' fuel isn't actually depleted so much as it's built up enough neutron poison to kill the reaction.Of what's left, many are isotopes which have valid use in industry and medicine - such as Cesium 137.The rest we could safely store in Yucca Mountain for the few hundred years it would take to decay to safe levels.
tian2992May 26, 2008
India has many Nuclear reactors, theirs are based on Canadian Designs.
s34nj0hn_May 26, 2008
It was safety orange, after all.
iztikeitMay 26, 2008
I'm not only a big environmentalist, I'd rather have more nuclear power plants than people who don't want nuclear power plants. Too many of ya.
hello1024May 26, 2008
Since the actual volume of the waste is small, couldn't it be diluted until it's less radioactive than say seawater, and then release it into the oceans, where it will be diluted even more?if not, why not?
jbondMay 27, 2008
To paraphrase: "Renewable energy power has a key part to play in providing the UK with reliable, low carbon electricity in the future, A new National Renewables Laboratory will provide the research and training needed after decades of neglect and decline." I can't help feeling that if we had made the capital investment in renewables that was spent on Nuclear we would have solved this problem by now. The UK is perfectly placed to do this with it's high tidal flows and prevailing winds off a large ocean with large waves. Not to mention it's bureaucratic and centralised control over building standards.Somebody please do an end to end lifetime Carbon analysis of the nuclear power industry. From rock in the ground in unstable countries to decommissioning the reactors and dealing with the waste.
aduzikMay 27, 2008
Nuclear power is an excellent transitional technology. It's the cheapest, cleanest, safest way of producing power. Nuclear's only real drawback is that it has the potential to go spectacularly wrong. However, it never *has* gone spectacularly wrong, and over the next fifty years or so, we'll develop ways of mitigating that risk further. At the same time, more cost-effective and safer alternatives will likely emerge. The long and the short of it is that fearful opposition to nuclear power, at this point, is simply ridiculous.