Re:Nuclear power is too slow
by Schroedingersat on Saturday December 17, 2022 @03:16AM
(#34025889)
> And that's not even assuming that the "waste" was recycled into usable fuel again creating a mostly closed loop fuel cycle
This is scifi. MOX has the fuel reused once to provide a small boost in efficiency after being reprocessed in an incredibly polluting weapons facility that needs an excuse to stay open and then the Pu240 still needs dealing with. And the "leftover uranium" is U238 not U235. There is no closed or "mostly closed" fuel cycle, it's just a shell game.
And your 40 grams doesn't include the 400 grams of non-radioactive heavy metal enrichment tailings, the 4kg of low level waste and the 40kg of milling or leaching slurry that would come out of any new mine or half of the existing mines.
Then multiply that all by 5 for full decarbonization rather than just electricity.
This is scifi. MOX has the fuel reused once to provide a small boost in efficiency after being reprocessed in an incredibly polluting weapons facility that needs an excuse to stay open and then the Pu240 still needs dealing with. And the "leftover uranium" is U238 not U235. There is no closed or "mostly closed" fuel cycle, it's just a shell game.
And your 40 grams doesn't include the 400 grams of non-radioactive heavy metal enrichment tailings, the 4kg of low level waste and the 40kg of milling or leaching slurry that would come out of any new mine or half of the existing mines.
Then multiply that all by 5 for full decarbonization rather than just electricity.