Huge radioactive leak closes Thorp nuclear plant

[donsu]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/nuclear/article/0,2763,1479527,00.html#article_continue


A leak of highly radioactive nuclear fuel dissolved in concentrated nitric acid, enough to half fill an Olympic-size swimming pool, has forced the closure of Sellafield's Thorp reprocessing plant.

The highly dangerous mixture, containing about 20 tonnes of uranium and plutonium fuel, has leaked through a fractured pipe into a huge stainless steel chamber which is so radioactive that it is impossible to enter.

Recovering the liquids and fixing the pipes will take months and may require special robots to be built and sophisticated engineering techniques devised to repair the £2.1bn plant.

-snip-

The closure could hardly have come at a worse time for the nuclear industry. Britain is struggling to meet its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20% of 1990 levels by 2010, despite a substantial programme of wind farm construction, while generating capacity will also be hit by the rundown of some of Britain's coal-fired power stations.
-snip-
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whose next? what nuke plant in the world will be next to degrade?

[Dr.Phool]

1. But, Bush and Cheney keep saying

We need to build more nuclear plants. It has to be safe.

Maybe we could send them into the pool for a photo-op, just to prove it.

[jpak]

2. This is the path that nuclear power advocates would lead us down

Spent fuel reprocessing is, and always will be, a dirty, dangerous and uneconomic business.

...not to mention the consequences for nuclear weapons proliferation...

[Tikki]

3. Believe me you don't mess around with highly dangerous.....

radioactive mixes.

The Nuclear Industry does not make for a cheaper or safer energy.

To answer your question: The leaking Hanford Reservation....among others.


Tikki

[jpak]

4. Others including

Mayak Russia (a REAL radioactive wasteland).

West Valley NY

Savannah River Plant SC

...and only the Goddess knows what goes on at Chinese and Indian reprocessing plants.

The latter have been accused of employing so-called "Glow Slaves" to perform maintenance and clean-up work...

[Ian David]

5. What we need is nuclear fusion, not fission

Even before we develop break-even fusion, we can feed chemical and radioactive waste into fusion reactors to reduce it to plasma.

The only waste that would come from fusion will be the shielding material once it becomes brittle from exposure to neutron bombardment. And that material could be fed into the reactor as well and reduced to plasma.

[donsu]

6. kick

nt

[jpak]

7. We already have the ability to use fusion energy

Global production of photovoltaic modules will exceed 1100 MW this year and production is growing by 25-40% a year.

Global wind turbine capacity (currently 49,000 MW) is growing at ~20% per year - new wind capacity will exceed 8,000 MW this year alone.

Solar hot water heaters were invented and used over 100 years ago - they are very affordable today and have a rapid payback period.

Solar energy is here and can do the job today.

[sweetheart]

8. And they nver really calculate-in the "fuckup" costs

It seems like the stupidest of the stupid make the arguments for
how much it'll cost to keep the crap contained for 1000's of years.
Human error shows that accidents like this are normal. Many beaches east
of hear are unusable by the public because there are bits of plutonium
fuel rod in the sand, enough to cause death if accidentally swallowed
or inhaled. Oops... 100's of thousands of bits of fuel rod are out on
the scottish norht coast and will decay in 100,000 years at a public
cost of awesome proportions... not on anyone's spreadsheets.
Stupid fuckers, the lot of them.

Insulation, insulation, insulation, solar roof slates, and massive fuel
efficiency drives could end this tyranny of the oil industry overnight,
but then again, who is it who wants us to have this addiction to start
with? Big oil/nuclear. They lie at every turn to keep the public
lining their pockets.

[G_j]

9. geez... " containing about 20 tonnes of uranium and plutonium fuel"

that is pretty damn scary!

and BTW, aren't Cheney and * pushing for more reactors and less regulations?