Harnessing Clean Water from Power Plant Emissions

[NNadir]

4. I've been studying nuclear energy in detail for more than 30 years, ever since...

...Chernobyl blew up.

In my view, there is no such thing as "nuclear waste," although there is a lot of wasted imagination.

I consider used nuclear fuel to be an incredible resource for future generations, and for the first time, albeit in perhaps intellectually remote places, I'm beginning to see that realization again.

I say "again," because the originators of nuclear power technology appreciated this fact from the beginning, only to be swamped by fear and ignorance.

In contrast to so called "nuclear waste," dangerous fossil fuel waste and dangerous biomass combustion waste is killing about 7 million people per year; it's called "air pollution."

It doesn't even count climate change, although it is widely reported that there have been tens of thousands of deaths - probably more - as a result of extreme temperatures in recent years.

I'll begin to take reference to so called "nuclear waste" seriously when the proponents actually take real risks seriously.

The nuclear enterprise is more than half a century old. In that entire period, so called "nuclear waste" has not killed or injured as many people as will die in the next three hours from air pollution.

Let me make something very clear: There are NO constituents of used nuclear fuel that are without value. In many cases, the degradation of serious chemical pollutants, notably the organohalides that widely contaminate this planet, nuclear materials can accomplish what no other material could accomplish. I am more or less completely familiar with every single constituent, be they fission products or higher actinides in used nuclear fuel.

It is a disgrace that this material is being allowed to decay when it could do so much.