[svlug] [OT] Electrical Power Generation

[Ivan Sergio Borgonovo]

On 12 Feb 2001, at 14:15, Jeffrey Siegal wrote:

> Karen Shaeffer wrote:
> > That's just it, you can't handle waste correctly. The nuclear
> > half-life of many of the constituent elements in that waste is
> > very long indeed.

That's not a good criterion.

1) Heavy isotopes may have a short half life and decay to 
something that is not anymore radiactive after crossing half of 
the Mendeleiev table.
2) Fast decay _may_ be better since less polluting. Gamma ray 
are quicly absorbed by the surrounding atoms but very few 
isotopes reach a stable isotope ic et nunc.

There are isotopes that have terribly long half-live tens 
thousands years, but what to think about hundreds years half-
life or thousands years half-life.

> The longer the half-life, the *less* radioactive something is. 
> The most highly radioactive and dangerous waste components decay
> into more stable elements relatively quickly.

> > Nuclear power plants in the US are a dead issue. No company has
> > any proposals to build new ones and no more will be built.

> This is not clear.  There was recently an article in the Wall
> Street Journal which pointed out the financial sucess that a
> number of nuclear operators have had recently.  In particular,
> the safety and efficiency of plants has improved dramatically.  

They are taking into account just short term costs. Nobody 
really found a solution now. What we see are just temporary, 
relatively cheap solutions... anyway there is Russia waiting for 
our waste. Duma abroged a law recently, now they can import 
nuclear waste.

> This has increased the value of the plants, not enough to justify
> building new ones, but that possibility was mentioned should
> current trends continue.

Possibly... erm.


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