Operated from 1972 to 1996 and produced 119 billion kilowatt hours of energy
Dry cask storage is a method for safely storing spent nuclear fuel after it has cooled for several years in water pools. Once the fuel rods are no longer producing extreme heat, they are sealed inside massive steel and concrete casks that provide both radiation shielding and passive cooling through natural air circulation—no water is needed. Each cask can weigh over 100 tons and is engineered to resist earthquakes, floods, fire, and even missile strikes. This makes it a robust interim solution until permanent deep geological repositories are available. The casks are expected to last 50–100 years, though the fuel inside remains radioactive for thousands. Dry cask storage reduces reliance on crowded spent fuel pools, provides a secure above-ground option, and buys time for nations to develop long-term disposal strategies. In essence, it’s a durable, self-contained “vault” for nuclear waste
What ever happened to Yucca Mountain? I thought that was supposed to solve America's nuclear waste problem for good.
They've been talking about that since I was in primary school in the 1980s.
The problem is the weak railroad and interstate infrastructure. There are too many derailments and crumbling bridges to transport such 'hot' materials safely. There's also the danger of hijacking and making of dirty bombs.
If the cylinders in the OP can withstand missile strikes (supposedly) why would a derailment be a problem?
Probably what happens to all these projects.
Maybe Nevadans don't want that in their backyard? Or maybe they oughta at least get serious compensation for it.
But they don't get a say.
For what? The existence of something?
“Not in my back yard” is the biggest cause of so many issues in the world. Get over it.
For argument's sake, let's say you live near a disposal/storage site.
It's underfunded, so it leaks into the groundwater. Or maybe they don't catch a leak in time. You develop cancer because of radiation because you live close to the storage/disposal site.
It's not an uncommon scenario. Fracking has done this with wastewater being pumped back into the ground (https://news.yale.edu/2022/08/17/proximity-fracking-sites-associated-risk-childhood-cancer), and even places like Whidbey Island in Washington state have dealt with forever chemicals leeching into their groundwater (https://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/navy-expands-testing-of-wells-for-forever-chemical/). Yes, we need a storage site, but people should have a say about what is stored near where they live... whether it makes a difference or not.
Comparing fracking to nuclear waste is comparing apples to oranges. These are literally one of the most carefully handled materials in the world. We aren’t just dumping them in a pit and forgetting about them.
I'm not anti nuclear by any means. All I pointed out was that people should have a say in something that has the potential to cause health impacts on their communities.
I love how you take the sins of the fossil companies and try to make nuclear responsible for their actions. It's almost like the problem is the unhinged capitalism and lack of regulation and not the nuclear power itself.
Nuclear is great. I never said it wasn't. My point is that no storage solution is perfect and communities should have a say in what is stored near them.
You're not wrong in that people should have a say in what is stored where. But...
I can't say that no one lives near Yucca Mountain but almost no one lives close to it.
Yucca Mountain was considered because its a mountain of solid granite without an aquifer under it.
It also has to be transported there. One of the long running arguments is that this just uses up their roads and highways and cones through their state without their knowledge or compensation.
Look at the train derailment that have occurred.
The general public is unaware how nuclear waste works. Their fears are valid and it is their state, not everyone else's. The federal government is arguably flippant about it.