Fukushima warning: US has 'utterly failed' to address risk of spent fuel

[flamingdem]

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0330/Fukushima-warning-US-has-utterly-failed-to-address-risk-of-spent-fuel

Nuclear experts told Congress Wednesday that spent-fuel pools at US nuclear power plants are fuller than safety suggests they should be. They say the entire US spent-fuel policy should be overhauled in light of the nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima plant.

The travails of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan are highlighting a key question for the US: Why are America's nuclear power plants allowed to store tons of used but still highly radioactive fuel in pools for as many as 100 years – despite the fact that those pools are far more vulnerable to terrorist attack than the reactors themselves?

In Japan, a relatively small amount of used-up fuel was sitting in Fukushima's seven spent-fuel pools when disaster occurred. Yet after just days without a cooling system, most water in at least one pool had apparently boiled away, a fire was reported, and radiation levels soared.

By contrast, nuclear utilities in the US have over decades accumulated some 71,862 tons of spent fuel in more than 30 states – the vast majority of it sitting today in pools that are mostly full, according to a recent state-by-state tally by the Associated Press. It's a huge quantity of highly radioactive material equal to a great many Chernobyls' worth of radioactivity, nuclear experts say. MORE AT LINK

[RKP5637]

1. IMO that has always been the key issue with nuclear power plants, what to do

with the spent fuel. I do think the actual plant can be built safely, but the real looming issue is and always has been the waste, and none want that in their backyard.

[snappyturtle]

2. +1

[AndyTiedye]

3. Yucca Mountain Might Not be an Improvement

It has an earthquake fault running right through it.

[wtmusic]

7. A fault that hasn't been active for 10 million years.

Yes, it would be an immense improvement.

[madokie]

11. So that makes it perfectly safe, huh

Man you pro nuke guys/gals wear me out. Can't you see what is going on in Japan right now where just a few weeks ago I'm sure you were right in there with the rest of the pro-nukers pointing to Japan as a model when in fact Japan had no idea as to what to do with the conditions there now after a quake and tsunami took out 4 of their reactors that some are spewing radiation that will kill humans, animals, birds you name it for years to come.

[wtmusic]

15. If you demand a solution that's perfectly safe there is a 100% chance

you'll be disappointed.

Nuclear material is extremely powerful sh*t. A fuel pellet the size of a thimble has as much energy as a hopper car full of coal. Why wouldn't a material that powerful be dangerous?

For that reason, it has to be treated with care. There's no absolute 100% guarantee that a 9.0 earthquake won't split Vermont Yankee in half and dump tons of highly radioactive material into the Connecticut River.

However, the chances are billions of times higher (in fact, virtually certain) than in the next decade millions of people will die from the effects of coal smoke.

It's all about perspective, and not letting our imaginations create dangers that don't exist.

[madokie]

17. Japan doesn't exist?

I've been watching in real time what is going on there and its far less than good in anyones imagination

We can do better than continue to throw good money after bad. Nuclear isn't the future of our energy and you should know that. We won't really find out until we quit blowing money on nuke plants what is and can be.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. I feel safer and cleaner already, don't you?

[RKP5637]

5. Oh yeah! I'm sure congress will stumble around on this one for 10 many 20 more years. By then

we'll all be glowing in the dark and won't need any compact florescent bulbs. There's a cost savings! :nuke:

[wtmusic]

6. "Duh..uh...wasn't that what Yucca was for...uh...uh...."

Morons.

[GliderGuider]

8. Not for the really hot stuff that's sitting in the on-site pools.

For the stuff that's cool enough to dry-cask, yes, Yucca is a fine solution, as are many other locations on the planet.

We need to put that crap somewhere more secure than just behind a fence. 30 generations from now, it would be nice not to have our descendants tripping over it on their way up a trap line.

:banghead:

[wtmusic]

14. It sits in pools for seven years before it's cool enough to move

If we don't have enough security to guard fuel for seven years, we don't have enough security to guard a nuclear reactor.

Of the 2,000 employees that work at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, 500 work in security. The spent fuel is not just behind a fence, but several of them, as well as several layers of electronic defenses and guards with automatic weapons who take their job very seriously.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[flamingdem]

13. Imagine if the Tea Party were in charge! Nuke crap would proliferate nt

[wtmusic]

16. Right! Well, Obama is in charge and "nuke crap" will continue to "proliferate"

and provide safe, reliable power so you can type the same unthinking opinions over, and over, and over again.

Ain't technology grand?

[CJvR]

9. A relatively small amount?

IIRC there were reports that the pools were badly overstocked, to the point that they needed active cooling - which caused the pool problem. The design of the pools were not supposed to need that but would maintain the heat balance on their own.

[Kolesar]

10. Good catch...eom