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2006-05-01 Science & Technology

Economist: A modern philosopher's stone - Radioactive waste disposal

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Posted by 3dc 2006-05-01 20:23|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 *sigh* This idea has been around for ages. It's called nuclear incineration. This takes advantage of the strange fact that the amount of radioactive waste in a nuclear power reactor is a function of reactor power, not megawatts generated. This seems counterintuitive: it's as if pollution from cars is a function of how FAST you drive them, not how FAR you drive them. Surprising, yes. counterintuitive, yes. and absolutely true. Theoretically, you can take the waste from 6 reactors, dump it into one reactor, cook it for a full fuel cycle, and have the waste from 1 reactor come out at the end. oh, AND the electricity generated is a bonus.

Practically speaking, nobody wants to handle fuel that already has the waste products embedded in it: too radioactive to ship around.

Posted by Ptah">Ptah 2006-05-01 21:57|| http://www.crusaderwarcollege.org]">[http://www.crusaderwarcollege.org] 2006-05-01 21:57|| Front Page Top

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