[TrollBridge]

I'm reposted my concerns from a previous thread..and no, I'm not a environazi:

My only problem with nuclear power is the fission products that are produced. Cesnium and PU-239 are in particular really bad products that last a long time. Talk about NIMBY. I would just be happy living with the CO2 produced by fossil fuel plants than with radioactive elements that we don't know what to do with once we've extracted the energy from it.

Having said that, I believe wholeheartedly in a hydrogen economy based on fusion. Of course, being able to tip the balance between the ratio of output energy with respect to input energy is going to take years of technological development but that's another story.

[saganite]

I believe wholeheartedly in a hydrogen economy based on fusion.

You do? I hope the Easter Bunny leaves you lots of eggs. Better get that list ready for Santa. Only 8 months 'til xmas.

[Dan Evans]

Cesnium and PU-239 are in particular really bad products that last a long time.

Not nearly as dangerous as a lot of toxins that last forever. Even Chernobyl killed fewer people than about three airline accidents.

[JoeFromSidney]

My only problem with nuclear power is the fission products that are produced. Cesnium and PU-239 are in particular really bad products that last a long time. Talk about NIMBY. I would just be happy living with the CO2 produced by fossil fuel plants than with radioactive elements that we don't know what to do with once we've extracted the energy from it.\

Looks like it's time to spell out some basic nuclear engineering again.

97% of what comes out of a reactor as spent fuel is the same refined uranium that went in. The remaining 3% is plutonium, some short-lived transuranics, and the fission products. The uranium and the plutonium are perfectly good reactor fuels, and should be recycled back into a reactor.

The fission products are the nasty stuff. They're highly radioactive. However, that als means relatively short-lived. In reality, in less than 700 years the fission products decay to a lower level of radioactivity than the original uranium ore. The sensible thing to do is separate out the fission products and bury them. They don't have to be protected for geologic times. The Pyramids of Egypt have stood, without maintenance, for about three times as long as it would be necessary to sequester the fission products. Surely we can build something that will do the job at least as well as the Pyramids

Most of the so-called problems of nuclear power are self-inflicted. A big share of the self-infliction comes from misinformation, and indeed deliberate disinformation, about disposal of nuclear waste.