Ask HN: Why can't nuclear waste be launched into the sun?

Re:Ask HN: Why can't nuclear waste be launched into the sun? by jfengel on Monday October 26, 2020 @11:47AM (#24897447)

I'm a little baffled that the question is so perennial. You'd think it would start and end with "thousands of dollars per kilogram". Landfill fees are closer to "pennies per kilogram".

There's all kinds of technical reasons as well, and people love talking about space. But "five orders of magnitude in costs" seems like the conversation ends very abruptly.

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Re:Ask HN: Why can't nuclear waste be launched into the sun? by jamestimmins on Tuesday October 27, 2020 @08:46PM (#24913739)

Just speaking as OP, I think it's bc of the little information that gets into the public about nuclear science in general, much of it is about the cost and dangers of nuclear waste. I have the impression of this thing that has to be maintained by burying it under a mountain in North Dakota for the next 50,000 years.

So while 5 orders of magnitude makes the financial case clear, I don't have a good idea if the risks of keeping it around are potentially 6-7 orders of magnitude greater than getting rid of it.

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