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June 20, 2013
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 Spent Fuel’s Toxic LegacyPosted on Mar 17, 2011The most urgent focus of Japan’s worsening nuclear crisis is the threat from radioactive fuel that has already been used in the Fukushima Daiichi reactors and awaits disposal. In the United States, the nuclear industry has amassed about 70,000 tons of such potentially deadly waste material—and we have nowhere to put it. U.S. officials’ increasingly dire assessment of the situation in Japan stems largely from the fact that spent fuel rods—which were stored in pools of water to keep them cool—have apparently become uncovered. The material is “cool” only in the relative sense: Once exposed to air, the fuel rods rapidly heat up and release large amounts of radiation. This is just one of several calamitous system failures at the Fukushima plant, but it is the most immediately perilous. For days, Japanese officials denied that there was any problem with the spent-fuel pools, which are located in the same structures that house the reactors. On Thursday, however, authorities acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and began doing everything they could to address it. They even used helicopters to scoop up buckets of seawater and try to dump it onto the spent fuel rods in two of the plant’s six reactors. But the rods were giving off so much radiation that chopper pilots, for their own safety, had to release the water from a great height. Almost all of it missed, and the effort was halted after just four passes. The danger posed by radioactivity from the spent fuel is hampering workers’ efforts to keep Fukushima’s active reactors—filled with much “hotter” fuel—from melting down. It seems obvious that this kind of waste should be taken away and disposed of, if only to give plant operators one less thing to worry about in an emergency. Advertisement U.S. officials have long sought a permanent solution for storing high-level nuclear waste. In 2002, after a long and bitter controversy, Congress designated a Nevada site, Yucca Mountain, as the nation’s permanent nuclear waste repository. That seemed to be the answer. The spent fuel rods from the nation’s nuclear plants would be shipped to Yucca Mountain and forever entombed. Last year, however, the Obama administration filed a motion to withdraw the Energy Department’s application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to actually create and use the Yucca Mountain repository—thus effectively returning the whole argument to the vicinity of square one. As practically every Nevada politician, of either party, will be eager to tell you, there are good reasons not to choose Yucca Mountain. It is not as remote as one might like—the Las Vegas metropolitan area is just 100 miles away—and the area is seismically active. While it is true that scientists believe nearby faults could never produce a large enough earthquake to breach a well-constructed repository, it is also true that scientists believed the Fukushima plant would never be hit by a quake of magnitude 9.0 followed by a biblical tsunami. The Energy Department, aided by a blue-ribbon commission, is conducting a “comprehensive review” of the nuclear waste problem and will eventually come up with a plan. There are alternatives to simply putting all of the stuff inside a mountain—reprocessing, for example. But one course of action that makes no sense at all is just to let the waste keep piling up at more than 100 nuclear plants across the nation. The chances of a mishap are quite small; the consequences, however, are wholly unthinkable. This is the problem with the whole nuclear power industry, which employs a technology that is uniquely toxic. The impact of one miscalculation can be felt for a generation, a lifetime, even an eternity. German Chancellor Angela Merkel gets it. She told her parliament that the Japanese crisis made her realize that Germany must make a “measured exit” from nuclear power and “reach the age of renewable energy as soon as possible.” Merkel temporarily closed seven of Germany’s oldest reactors as a first step. After Japan, “business as usual” is not an option, she said. No one in Washington seems to be paying attention. Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.  TAGS:
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By bmeisen, March 22, 2011 at 9:43 am Link to this comment
@SteveK9 - the most immediate issue, as Robinson explains, is nuclear waste. What are you going to do with it? It is poisonous and must be safely stored away from people and nature for thousands of years. What is your solution? The next issue is insuring against not-so-serious fails, such as what we are witnessing in Japan right now. Are you willing to pay your share? Thirdly there’s the cost of developing the technology which is currently hidden from consumers. Will you let that cost be reflected in your utility bills. Finally would you please transfer your enthusiasm other technologies, ones that don’t pose the such dangers and that are equally plausible. For example energy efficiency could be improved and investments in renewable energy sources could produce a nuclear and CO2 free future.
Report thisBy MarthaA, March 21, 2011 at 11:41 pm Link to this comment
SteveK9, March 21 at 9:44 pm,
The lesson to be learned is that the United States should
Report thisforget nuclear, dismantle and store the waste on the moon,
instead of the earth and develop solar and wind, before we
destroy ourselves.
By SteveK9, March 21, 2011 at 5:44 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The situation is not ‘worsening’. We should be very cautious,
but the situation is improving. Germany’s reaction is
ridiculous. You’d think they expected a tsunami in Berlin.
The Japanese plants were not designed to withstand a
magnitude 9.0 earthquake and a 36-foot high tsunami (the
design basis was magnitude 8.2 and 18 feet). That was a
mistake. These old designs do not have the spent-fuel pools
inside the secondary containment, which clearly is a design
flaw. That said, the reactors survived both the earthquake and
the tsunami. The backup power systems also survived the
earthquake but not the tsunami. The general devastation has
made restoring power to the plant very difficult.
There are lessons to be learned here and they will be
incorporated. That said, no one has died from radiation and
there is a very good chance that no one will, or even suffer
any long-term health effects, including the plant workers.
Fossil fuel extraction and use kills thousands every year
(including the 11 men on the Deepwater Horizon). We are just
used to it and it does not have the irrational fear that
surrounds radiation. Particularly the idea that there are no
harmless levels. Please give up flying in an airplane, or eating
bananas or basically living on Earth if you think that.
Nuclear energy will be an essential part of improving the
Report thisstandards of living for billions of people, while preventing the
most serious effects from CO2-induced climate change.
By MarthaA, March 20, 2011 at 8:45 pm Link to this comment
David Beglinger, March 20 at 11:12 pm,
Not a good analogy—stink doesn’t kill—radiation
does, slowly. The Jet Stream will give us all a mess
of radiation which will be an equal dose to all—the
Nobles, the Nearly Nobles and the Common
Population alike, although the wealthy Nobles and
Nearly Nobles will be able to combat the effects
medically better than the commons who will have to
suffer the nauseating side effects as if there is
nothing wrong; radiation should arrive in Kansas in
a couple weeks and it will cover the world.
It certainly was sad to learn that there are 104
Report thissimilar type nuclear facilities in the United States,
and earthquakes are coming to the United States
as well, the United States is not exempt from
earthquakes. It looks like there are two nuclear
facilities built in the San Andreas Fault area;
when that earthquake decides to rumble, woe to
the inhabitants of the United States.
By David Beglinger, March 20, 2011 at 7:12 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Years ago some friends at college had an house where a broken waste pipe from the toilet spilled its contents into the basement. I commented at the time it was analogous to nuclear power, convenient at one level but a mess at another. Still apt, methinks.
Report thisBy Marge Currey, March 20, 2011 at 5:33 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Some people do not think of their grandchildren and greatgrandchildren, I for one will be dead and gone and the world I left to my child(not a child anymore) will not be the same world I was born into.
Nature is the best way, and when man messes with mother nature it is the land that suffers and the land is what gives us substance.
Report thisBy gerard, March 20, 2011 at 4:55 pm Link to this comment
Any venture having the names Raytheon Inc. or Brookhaven or Israel attached to it
Report thisis suspect on grounds of heartless adventurism for the purpose of “taking
advantage.” Sorry, but history doesn’t speak well for these money-making
“developers” of killing power.
By Ratiocinator, March 20, 2011 at 3:40 pm Link to this comment
On Thorium:
“Alvin Radkowsky, of Tel Aviv University in Israel, founded a consortium to
develop thorium reactors, which included other companies: Raytheon Nuclear
Inc., Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow.
According to the president of their project, the “reactor cores are less expensive
by up to 20 percent, and additional savings occur because [the] design reduces
the storage of nuclear waste by up to 50 percent.”
So there is still the problem of safely storing waste that causes cancer and will
destroy our life sustaining environment if not stored effectively. We have all
seen what happens with safety measures when profit is in control. BP Gulf
disaster being the most recent. Financial meltdown being the biggest example.
Bottom line for me is distrust of those who would control the careful treatment
of the waste. Wind and Solar are the only true answers if you want to get
serious about safety and sustainability.
“Powdered thorium metal is pyrophoric and will often ignite spontaneously in
air. Natural thorium decays very slowly compared to many other radioactive
materials, and the alpha radiation emitted cannot penetrate human skin
meaning owning and handling small amounts of thorium, such as a gas mantle,
is considered safe. The decay of Thorium does, however, create Radon gas so
caution should be exercised when thorium decays in closed spaces. Exposure
to an aerosol of thorium can lead to increased risk of cancers of the lung,
pancreas and blood, as lungs and other internal organs can be penetrated by
alpha radiation. Exposure to thorium internally leads to increased risk of liver
diseases.”
The above was in the same Wikipedia article referred to earlier. Thorium may at
Report thisbest be a lesser of two evils. Big Woop.
By TDoff, March 20, 2011 at 1:01 pm Link to this comment
Perhaps we need a new ‘Manhattan Project’, a new, crash atomic energy program. One that would devise a means of making all radioactive particles pulse with a bright, visible-in-daylight glowing bubble, perhaps purple with a magenta stripe.
Then, as citizens drive past a nuclear energy facility, and find themselves blinded by a purple-and-red cloud, or watch purple-and-red waves wash in on their beaches, or see purple-and-red billows bursting from a politician’s mouth as he assures us there is ‘No Danger/no reason for concern’ from the latest nuclear ‘incident’/disaster, public pressure might force us to a more rational energy solution.
Report thisBy RayLan, March 20, 2011 at 11:37 am Link to this comment
gerard
Report this“All anybody knows about nuclear energy is not enough by a long shot. “
We know enough to know that radioactive sources of energy are volatile and lethal, which is why they are handled with the most precious care complete with hermatically sealed suits. This should be enought to clue us into the global risks assumed when installing these potential ‘apocalypses under pressure’.
By gerard, March 19, 2011 at 4:49 pm Link to this comment
All anybody knows about nuclear energy is not enough by a long shot. And to
try using it before it is thoroughly understood is a typical error of human
hubris. One thing is wrong with many human endeavors of dubious value: The
idea that we “climb Mt. Everest because it’s there.” In other words, we do
things because they are there to do, regardless of any ethical compunctions or
difficult long-term studies requiring patience.
Most of the time, fortunately, this eagerness is commendable. But sometimes
it can be fatal. It’s known commonly as “rushing in where angels fear to tread.”
It was not long before the scientists at Los Alamos realized that they were in
league with the devil, so to speak. Nevertheless, they persisted. They were all
far too intelligent to have done it in order to pulverize two Japanese cities. No,
they did it to see if they could do it. Another apt adage is “curiosity killed the
cat.” Lots of cats—like more than 200,000 in two days.
Just like the tsunami—except the tsunami didn’t know any better!
Report thisBy drbhelthi, March 19, 2011 at 3:12 pm Link to this comment
Depleted uranium, the ultimate, dirty bomb.
Forced choice of the U.S. Military.
Dr. Doug Rokke, U.S. Army Health Physicist, Nuclear Medicine Sciences
Officer, explains in a video, that nuclear weaponry has been
consistently in use, since used by the Israelis against Egypt in 1973.
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/15.html
Report thisBy fearnotruth, March 19, 2011 at 1:18 pm Link to this comment
RE: Then why do we have a government?
<b>bingo</i>
can you say WALL STREET, CITY OF LONDON?
Report thisBy jeandavid, March 19, 2011 at 11:57 am Link to this comment
Not fair to the Martians do send the nuclear waste there. Besides, the pollution of sending a missile there every so often would be bad too. Even worse of one of the damned things should crash. But that would never happen, right?
All military nuclear waste should be stored in the basement of the Pentagon. All civilian nuclear waste should be stored in the basements of the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, March 19, 2011 at 11:20 am Link to this comment
Now how do we get this genie back into the bottle?
Report thisBy Paolo, March 19, 2011 at 12:44 am Link to this comment
“The solution to pollution is dilution.”
Nuclear power does not create any radioactivity that wasn’t there in the first place; it simply concentrates such material in one place.
The reason fuel rods heat up is that a lot of radioactive material is packed closely together. Turn those rods into pellets and encase them in non-soluble glass (preferably with a small amount of lead added), and the alleged “problem” is solved.
In the long run, there really is no alternative to nuclear power. Solar and wind power simply cannot supply enough power for a modern, industrial civilization.
Report thisBy Aarky, March 18, 2011 at 9:35 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Robinson makes a small referral to recycling the spent fuel and the French have been doing it for years. They have processed 23,000 tons of spent fuel,even though the US has never done this. The process basically gave the fuel a new life. One estimate is that if the 50,000 tons of old US fuel were to be recycled, it would provide energy for all of the US for 12 years.
Report thisBy samosamo, March 18, 2011 at 6:29 pm Link to this comment
****************
dillon,
Thanks, little tidbits as that tends to open my eyes, especially
when u238 has a half life of 4.5 billion years. Seems it would
take some seriously dements folks to use that kind of
substance.
http://www.ndted.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Radio
graphy/halflife2.htm
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_decay
Report thisBy C.Curtis.Dillon, March 18, 2011 at 3:33 pm Link to this comment
Samosamo:
Nice thought but not true. Depleted Uranium comes from the diffusion plants where the U235 is enriched for bombs and power plants. The left over uranium feedstock, mostly U238, isn’t useful for very much so the military uses it for these insidious weapons. Spent fuel from nuclear reactors is too radioactive to use for much of anything.
Report thisBy John Poole, March 18, 2011 at 1:01 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Those monstrous physicists who were obsessed with being able to blow things up
Report thisin a very impressive manner sought to appease their conscience later and said
that there would be a “peaceful” dividend from their pornographic obsession.
Funded by a war machine some needed to atone but ended up only endangering
mankind further. Nuclear power plants may be mankind’s final lethal
maladaptation. This high priesthood of atom splitters has indeed foisted
something on mankind which is in play now and cannot be left unattended.
Smoldering coal fires deep beneath the soil in PA can’t compare.
By WriterOnTheStorm, March 18, 2011 at 1:00 pm Link to this comment
It’s hardly a journalistic coup to claim that uranium based, 1970’s tech,
corporate built, for-profit nuclear power plants are not worth the risks they
pose. It would be far more impressive to explore the possibility of thorium
based, 21st century tech plants built and overseen by socially responsible
government agencies.
From Wikipedia:
<<According to Australian science writer Tim Dean, “thorium promises what
uranium never delivered: abundant, safe and clean energy - and a way to burn
up old radioactive waste.” With a thorium nuclear reactor, Dean stresses a
number of added benefits: there is no possibility of a meltdown, it generates
power inexpensively, it does not produce weapons-grade by-products, and will
burn up existing high-level waste as well as nuclear weapon stockpiles.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, of the British Telegraph daily, suggests that “Obama
could kill fossil fuels overnight with a nuclear dash for thorium,” and could put
“an end to our dependence on fossil fuels within three to five years.>>
Maybe Truthdig could do some real journalism and dig for the truth about the
Report thisthese claims.
By gerard, March 18, 2011 at 12:48 pm Link to this comment
And to think we started it! Another great accomplishment for the benefit of the
world! USA! USA!
Enough already!
Report thisBy fearnotruth, March 18, 2011 at 12:30 pm Link to this comment
RE: But yes, the military does know where to put it, in depleted
uranium munitions. Easiest way for the u.s. to toxify other
countries’ land, air and water.
hear, hear!
perhaps the most suppressed truth of the Global War Of Terror is the seemingly systematic
genocide of ME populations - seemingly those standing between the globalist and their
much-needed raw materials - if this notion is seen as ‘insane’ because of so-called ally
casualties, one would do well to consider the ‘insanity’ of the notion that any among the
Global Finance Oligarchy actually care about any of the cannon fodder sent into the
cauldron of war… e.g.
“...military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy. - Henrey
Report thisKissinger, National Security Advisor under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
By TDoff, March 18, 2011 at 12:14 pm Link to this comment
As usual, Wall Street is maneuvering to take advantage and make a lot of money from this latest series of nuclear crises. Since the news is getting worse each day, with threat levels rising almost hourly in Japan, and the revelations of the risks in the US of ever-increasing amounts of extremely dangerous spent fuel rods, The Street senses great opportunities. Goldman, for example, is investing billions in an attempt to corner the futures market in toilet tissue, calculating that when the real truth comes out about the extent of the true disaster we face, and the s**t hits the fan, they’ll be sitting pretty.
Report thisBy samosamo, March 18, 2011 at 11:44 am Link to this comment
****************
“In the United States, the nuclear industry has amassed about
70,000 tons of such potentially deadly waste material—and we
have nowhere to put it.In the United States, the nuclear
industry has amassed about 70,000 tons of such potentially
deadly waste material—and we have nowhere to put it.”“
****************
But yes, the military does know where to put it, in depleted
Report thisuranium munitions. Easiest way for the u.s. to toxify other
countries’ land, air and water.
By fearnotruth, March 18, 2011 at 2:57 am Link to this comment
RE: Interesting thought—storing waste on Mars or the moon. Where else do
we have to go?
the sun - launching radioactive waste into the sun is the logical choice, but launching anything
so poisonous is so risky, that the launch mechanics would have to be more fool-
proof than the reactors - who knows… riskier than letting it hang around?
renewable energy is, up till now, not deemed cost effective - this incident may
be the tipping point - indeed, should be, ethically speaking, but when have
ethics ever significantly impacted profit and loss?
ironically, when it comes to societal harmony, Japan is about as advanced as
Report thisanywhere on earth; yet, even in the land of ‘wa’ profit and loss trumps
everything - could be that’s history now in 0-Nihon
By aacme88, March 17, 2011 at 11:09 pm Link to this comment
“No one in Washington seems to be paying attention.”
Maybe because Washington is owned lock, stock and barrel by the energy companies?
Report thisThe notion of creating something that will be hugely dangerous for thousands of years, needing active special treatment for all that time, all for the purpose of boiling water, is preposterous. Though very profitable.
The US government has historically said, “No problem. We’ll sign off on the management of this stuff, as long as it needs managing.” Estimates of this period range up to 200 thousand years. US government: “No problem.”
This from a government barely over 200 years old and looking shakier by the day.
By MarthaA, March 17, 2011 at 10:46 pm Link to this comment
Nuclear energy was a bad decision made in haste. Maybe the waste can be stored on the moon or Mars.
Report this