From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,60e2922351e0e780 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-11-17 16:31:08 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news2.google.com!fu-berlin.de!news2.telebyte.nl!newshub1.home.nl!home.nl!skynet.be!skynet.be!louie!tlk!not-for-mail Sender: lbrenta@lbrenta Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: OT: Nuclear Waste (Was Re-Marketing Ada) References: <3FB22125.1040807@noplace.com> <3FB3751D.5090809@noplace.com> <49cbf610.0311171533.2324e885@posting.google.com> From: Ludovic Brenta Date: 18 Nov 2003 01:31:06 +0100 Message-ID: User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Organization: -= Belgacom Usenet Service =- NNTP-Posting-Host: 217.136.193.234 X-Trace: 1069115466 reader3.news.skynet.be 15804 217.136.193.234:55779 X-Complaints-To: usenet-abuse@skynet.be Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:2601 Date: 2003-11-18T01:31:06+01:00 List-Id: dmytrylavrov@fsmail.net (Dmytry Lavrov) writes: According to COGEMA, the French agency for nuclear fuel and waste, a nuclear plant uses fuel that consists, for 100 kg of fuel, of: 93 kg non-radioactive Uranium 238 7 kg radioactive Uranium 235 After 4 years, part of the fuel load is replaced in each reactor. For 100 kg of fuel, the outcome is this: 93 kg non-radioactive Uranium 238 1 kg radioactive Uranium 235 1 kg radioactive Plutonium 239 3 kg other wastes 2 kg are missing: they've been turned into energy (e=mc2). The only question is: what do we do with the 1 kg of plutonium and 3 kg of other wastes? First, the various wastes are sorted according to their half-life. The half-life is the time it takes for half of the material to degrade (through nuclear fission) into other products. The longer the half-life, the bigger the problem. Wastes with a short half-life (milliseconds, seconds, even a few days or months) are not a big problem and can be treated on-site. Now plutonium is a different matter, because its half-life is 26 thousand years. - it is possible to reuse the plutonium, mixed with uranium, in some existing power plants to produce energy. Thus, we do not produce ever more plutonium but "burn" it as we go. At the very least, this reduces the net amount of plutonium produced. For example, France burns plutonium in 900 MW reactors, but not in 1300 MW reactors. - it is possible to store it and wait for 26 thousand years until half the plutonium has turned into other (possibly radioactive) elements. - it is possible to use it in nuclear weapons. This is akin to storage, until (God forbid) such time as the weapons are used. My opinion is this: we should not trust our children for 26 thousand years (by which time only half the problem will be solved anyway). We cannot even trust ourselves for a couple of decades without going to war or doing something stupid. We must treat this plutonium and turn it into something harmless. It is not an urgent problem for now, but will become one around 2040 when most of the existing reactors reach their end of life (the existing reactors with their infrastructure are absolutely required for treatment of nuclear waste; nobody would accept building a treatment plant where nothing "nuclear" exists yet). -- Ludovic Brenta.