Gregory's Server@Syulang @mojala @firstdogonthemoon @dgoldsmith That’s not very likely to happen, barring extreme, unforeseen circumstances (like a massive earthquake followed by an equally massive tsunami); or extreme, unholy incompetence, wilful disregard of safety procedures, and continued use of a reactor with known design flaws (Chernobyl).
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 @enoch_exe_inc @mojala @firstdogonthemoon @dgoldsmith I do regard human incompetence as one of our savings graces (we're too stupid and half arsed to be able to successfully wipe out all life), but fission is one situation where our income.pitence makes us *more* dangerous. I do sincerely believe we are too stupid as a species to be trusted with nuclear systems. If we can break something, we will. No matter how hard we try to make it idiot proof. @enoch_exe_inc @mojala @firstdogonthemoon @dgoldsmith  @Syulang @enoch_exe_inc @mojala @firstdogonthemoon @dgoldsmith …and still somehow survived, despite receiving the equivalent radiation dosage to kill ten people. I heard about that. @Syulang @enoch_exe_inc @mojala @firstdogonthemoon @dgoldsmith I don’t. The nuclear industry is among the safest in the world and kills the least number of people per unit of energy produced. It just happen to be in the unique position of having a lot of political baggage attached to it. @Syulang @enoch_exe_inc @mojala @firstdogonthemoon @dgoldsmith Also, nuclear chemistry and nuclear physics is significantly less well understood by the general public compared to other fields of science. So, misinformation is rife and fears about radiation is frequently more deadly than radiation itself. @Syulang @enoch_exe_inc @mojala @firstdogonthemoon @dgoldsmith For example, no one died from radiation at Fukushima, but the extensive evacuations caused major disruptions to the lives of thousands of people and caused about 1600 people to die, mainly from suicide. |
@Syulang @mojala @firstdogonthemoon @dgoldsmith I have greater confidence in the emerging Generation IV reactors, though, and the fast-fission and breeder reactors required to complete the nuclear fuel cycle. Once those are up and running, the amount of nuclear waste they’ll produce will be dramatically reduced; and whatever is left unrecyclable will take only a few hundred years to decay, as opposed to tens of thousands.