Why throw nuclear waste away? It looks useful.

[RandomPoster]

Nuclear waste will continue producing massive amounts of heat until it stops being radioactive. We could heat buildings by pumping hot water through pipes that is heated by nuclear waste. We could save power by putting nuclear waste in lead coated hot water heaters in our homes instead of using electricity to heat our water.

 

[Sunni Man]

Not economically feasible because it's still highly toxic and must be secured and constantly monitored to keep it out of the hands of terrorists. ...

 

[Likkmee]

Not economically feasible because it's still highly toxic and must be constantly monitored and secured to keep it out of the hands of terrorists. ...

Sunny. I'm only here to help udderz

 

[Thunk]

The main cannon in the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) fires depleted uranium bullets that go clean thru tanks

 

[Crepitus]

Nuclear waste will continue producing massive amounts of heat until it stops being radioactive. We could heat buildings by pumping hot water through pipes that is heated by nuclear waste. We could save power by putting nuclear waste in lead coated hot water heaters in our homes instead of using electricity to heat our water.

You go with that.

Let us how it goes, I'll be waaaaaaaay over here.

 

[Sunni Man]

The main cannon in the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) fires depleted uranium bullets that go clean thru tanks

U.S. and Russians tanks have reactive armor that can defeat depleted uranium sabot rounds. ..

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

The main cannon in the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) fires depleted uranium bullets that go clean thru tanks

U.S. and Russians tanks have reactive armor that can defeat depleted uranium sabot rounds. ..

Unfortunately, each of those explosive packs only works once. So, unless they are fortunate enough to be attacked by an A-10 with only about 20 rounds left, they are not good defense against A-10s.

Good against guided missiles, though.

 

[airplanemechanic]

Nuclear waste will continue producing massive amounts of heat until it stops being radioactive. We could heat buildings by pumping hot water through pipes that is heated by nuclear waste. We could save power by putting nuclear waste in lead coated hot water heaters in our homes instead of using electricity to heat our water.

You go with that.

Let us how it goes, I'll be waaaaaaaay over here.

Kinda like when you hear the nuclear scientist say "If you see me running, try to keep up."

 

[Crepitus]

The main cannon in the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) fires depleted uranium bullets that go clean thru tanks

View attachment 294826

They've been processed to remove radioactives.

Nuclear waste will continue producing massive amounts of heat until it stops being radioactive. We could heat buildings by pumping hot water through pipes that is heated by nuclear waste. We could save power by putting nuclear waste in lead coated hot water heaters in our homes instead of using electricity to heat our water.

You go with that.

Let us how it goes, I'll be waaaaaaaay over here.

Kinda like when you hear the nuclear scientist say "If you see me running, try to keep up."

Maxim #3 of "The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries"


An ordinance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.

 

[ReinyDays]

I don't think nuclear waste gets hot unless it's packed close enough ... otherwise it wouldn't be waste ... the stuff has to be refined again to allow criticality ... kinda guessing here but I know the waste from the power plants we have today is unsuitable for further use ... it's far more expensive to build breeder reactors from which the waste can be utilized ...

The lead lined nuclear water heater would need 1 foot 4 inches of lead ... heavy ... too heavy for wood-framed floors ... the problem is exposure time, water heaters are in our homes all the time, that's very bad ... and very close, distance from the source is also a mitigating factor ... and gamma radiation is a killer, strong enough to disassociate oxygen molecules and forming ozone right there in our homes ...

Terrorists are better off raiding hospitals, some really nasty stuff there ... plus for less than $100 at WalMart will get kill counts in the hundreds ... napalm costs the same as gasoline ... the radiological threat to way overblown unless we're talking nation-state terrorist activities ... and we all saw what Saudi Arabia can do with a handful of airplanes ...

Better is for us to insure our government isn't acting overseas in a way that makes folks overseas want to kill us ...

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Terrorists are better off raiding hospitals, some really nasty stuff there ... plus for less than $100 at WalMart will get kill counts in the hundreds ..

But buying 100 nuclear water heaters would be much easier and deadly, in the long run.

 

[ReinyDays]

They've been processed to remove radioactives.

If we take all the radioactive material out of uranium, what are we left with? ... I thought Lead-208 was the largest stable nucleus ...

An ordinance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.

The CO at Clark AFB tells the tale that it was when he noticed the volcanologists left their cars running in the parking lot and wouldn't unsling their backpacks that he decided to call the final evacuation ... that Pinatubo blew seconds after was immaterial ...

 

[JGalt]

Dear Gummint:

I would gladly take three 55-gallon drums of your best nuclear waste. It would be fun to throw some spiders and snakes in it, just to see what they do.

I hate spiders and snakes.

Sincerely yours, Me.

 

[sparky]

Not economically feasible because it's still highly toxic and must be constantly monitored and secured to keep it out of the hands of terrorists. ...

Sunny. I'm only here to help udderz

~S~

 

[RandomPoster]

Not economically feasible because it's still highly toxic and must be constantly monitored and secured to keep it out of the hands of terrorists. ...

Sunny. I'm only here to help udderz

~S~

The grave of a great American hero.

 

[karpenter]

The main cannon in the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) fires depleted uranium bullets that go clean thru tanks

View attachment 294826

The A1 Abrams' Has It In It's Armor

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

I don't think nuclear waste gets hot unless it's packed close enough ... otherwise it wouldn't be waste ... the stuff has to be refined again to allow criticality ... kinda guessing here but I know the waste from the power plants we have today is unsuitable for further use ... it's far more expensive to build breeder reactors from which the waste can be utilized ...

The lead lined nuclear water heater would need 1 foot 4 inches of lead ... heavy ... too heavy for wood-framed floors ... the problem is exposure time, water heaters are in our homes all the time, that's very bad ... and very close, distance from the source is also a mitigating factor ... and gamma radiation is a killer, strong enough to disassociate oxygen molecules and forming ozone right there in our homes ...

Terrorists are better off raiding hospitals, some really nasty stuff there ... plus for less than $100 at WalMart will get kill counts in the hundreds ... napalm costs the same as gasoline ... the radiological threat to way overblown unless we're talking nation-state terrorist activities ... and we all saw what Saudi Arabia can do with a handful of airplanes ...

Better is for us to insure our government isn't acting overseas in a way that makes folks overseas want to kill us ...

kinda guessing here but I know the waste from the power plants we have today is unsuitable for further use ...

Only because some of the waste products "eat" the neutrons needed to keep the reaction going.
Once these "poisons" are removed, it's good to go.

 

[Crepitus]

They've been processed to remove radioactives.

If we take all the radioactive material out of uranium, what are we left with? ... I thought Lead-208 was the largest stable nucleus ...

An ordinance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.

The CO at Clark AFB tells the tale that it was when he noticed the volcanologists left their cars running in the parking lot and wouldn't unsling their backpacks that he decided to call the final evacuation ... that Pinatubo blew seconds after was immaterial ...

You'd have to ask a chemist or a Nike or somebody. That one is over my pay grade. I do know that DU penitraters are not radioactive.

 

[DGS49]

Spent nuclear fuel rods (one component of "nuclear waste") can be re-processed and used over and over again, forever. The technology is well-established, safe, and economically viable. A consortium of private power companies once built a facility to reprocess spent fuel in [I think it was] Barnwell, South Carolina, and right when it was ready to go into full commercial service, PRESIDENT CARTER decided that we didn't want this technology used, because it can ALSO be used to make weapons-grade nuclear material. If we used it, then we would be politically prevented from forbidding others from using it, and it might be used by Bad Guys, like Iran.

This is one of many illustrations of stupid government policy being made perpetual, for no good reason. I suppose it might come up in the future if "we" run short of mined uranium in our nuke power plants.

 

[DGS49]

"In 1977, the Carter Administration extended the moratorium into a long-term policy to defer indefinitely the commercial reprocessing and recycling of plutonium produced in U.S. nuclear power plants. As a result of this decision, approximately 97% of the recoverable uranium and plutonium from SNF became nonrecoverable waste products.

Although the goal in principle was desirable, it ultimately eliminated all U.S. commercial reprocessing. In spite of the U.S. position, reprocessing continued elsewhere in the world, causing the U.S. to lose much of its influence in international nonproliferation efforts.

In October 1981, President Reagan lifted the indefinite ban on U.S. commercial reprocessing activities. However, even overlooking the negative history of the West Valley, Morris, and Barnwell plants, the availability of low-cost uranium, numerous plant cancellations, and premature shutdowns eliminated any interest in and financial incentives to reprocess SNF. By 1993, President Clinton had reaffirmed the U.S. deferral policy that discouraged reprocessing and research."