Nuclear Waste Reprocessing Gains Momentum in the U.S.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/nuclear-waste-reprocessing-transmutation
#HackerNews #NuclearWaste #Reprocessing #U.S. #Energy #Sustainability #Environment #Technology

Nuclear Waste Reprocessing Gains Momentum in the U.S.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/nuclear-waste-reprocessing-transmutation
#HackerNews #NuclearWaste #Reprocessing #U.S. #Energy #Sustainability #Environment #Technology
"Disposal of the spent [#nuclear] fuel will begin [at #Onkalo] in the early 2020s and continue for the next 100 years" (Onkalo will store 6,500 tonnes)
"...around 1.1 million tonnes will be produced worldwide over the next 100 years"
"[Geological disposal schemes] are technically challenging and financially draining" (Wired: 24 Apr 2017)
https://www.wired.com/story/olkiluoto-island-finland-nuclear-waste-onkalo/Not many deep repositories in operation whilst clamour of nuclear power lobby grows louder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_geological_repository
#NuclearWaste
In Hokkaido, Indigenous land rights have added another layer to the division of opinions in Suttsu and Kamoenai over whether to host a permanent underground repository for Japan’s nuclear waste. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/07/06/energy/hokkaido-ainu-nuclear-waste-storage/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #environment #energy #nuclearenergy #energy #renewables #hokkaido #nuclearwaste #ainu #indigenouspeople
We Work The Black Seam
"This place has changed for good
Your economic theory said it would
It's hard for us to understand
We can't give up our jobs the way we should
Our blood has stained the #coal
We tunneled deep inside the nations soul
We matter more than pounds and pence
Your economic theory makes no sense
One day in a #nuclear age
They may understand our rage
They build machines that they can't control
And bury the waste in a great big hole
Power was to become cheap and clean
Grimey faces were never seen
Deadly for 12,000 years
Is #Carbon14
We work the black seam together
We work the black seam together
The seam lies underground
Three million years of pressure packed it down
We walk through ancient forest lands
And light a thousand cities with our hands
Your dark satanic mills
Have made redundant all our mining skills
You can't exchange a six-inch band
For all the poisoned streams in cumberland
One day in a nuclear age
They may understand our rage
They build machines that they can't control
And bury the waste in a great big hole
Power was to become cheap and clean
Grimey faces were never seen
Deadly for 12,000 years
Is carbon 14
We work the black seam together
We work the black seam together
And should the children weep
The turning world will sing their souls to sleep
When you have sunk without a trace
The universe will suck me into place
One day in a nuclear age
They may understand our rage
They build machines that they can't control
And bury the waste in a great big hole
Power was to become cheap and clean
Grimey faces were never seen
Deadly for 12,000 years
Is carbon 14
We work the black seam together
We work the black seam together
We work the black seam together
We work the black seam together"
- #Sting, 1985
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egynEo4cIEM
#80sMusic #NoNukes #NoCoal #RethinkNotRestart #DirtyCoal #NuclearWaste #RenewablesNow! #NoNukesForAI #NoCoalForAI
This from 2021. And yes, it's still sitting there. The alternatives? Desecrating #YuccaMountain? Polluting the #GreatLakes? Or maybe burying it underneath Congress? But until we figure out how to transport and permanently store nuclear waste, it is being stored on site. And not just in #Maine -- everywhere there was a #NuclearPowerPlant!
Armed Guards Protect Tons Of #NuclearWaste That Maine Can’t Get Rid Of
By Abigail Curtis, BDN
Published July 19, 2021
"In the summertime, the picturesque village of #WiscassetME is infamous for its long lines of people hungry to try a lobster roll at Red’s Eats and cars that crawl through town on the often-clogged #USRouteOne.
"But just a few miles south of downtown is a different kind of roadblock: 550 metric tons of nuclear waste stored on a coastal peninsula at the now-decommissioned #MaineYankee atomic energy plant that have nowhere to go.
"The change in presidential administrations means another chance for the federal government to make good on its promise to remove the waste, so the site can be closed for good. The Biden administration’s Department of Energy seems to be picking up where the Obama administration left off, creating a process for communities to volunteer to host the waste.
" 'What worries me is that there really isn’t any national leadership right now on this stuff. There isn’t an agency that has a mission and has developed a strategy, that has goals and is willing to act on it,' Don Hudson, the chairman of the Maine Yankee Community Advisory Panel, said. 'We’re currently in this limbo.'
"That’s a problem because the waste — 1,400 spent nuclear fuel rods housed in 60 cement and steel canisters, plus four canisters of irradiated steel removed from the nuclear reactor when it was taken down — is safe for now, but can’t stay in Wiscasset forever.
"The situation in Wiscasset underscores a thorny issue facing more than 100 communities across the U.S.: close to a hundred thousand tons of nuclear waste that has no place to go.
"Securing these remnants of nuclear energy generation is an ongoing task that requires armed guards around the clock and costs Maine Yankee’s owners some $10 million per year, which is being paid for with money from the government.
"After the government failed to remove the spent fuel, Maine Yankee and the other two decommissioned nuclear power plants in New England — Connecticut Yankee in East Hampton, Connecticut, and Yankee Atomic in Rowe, Massachusetts — took it to court. So far, they have been awarded a total of $575.5 million in damages during four rounds of litigation, money that has been paid out of the U.S. Judgment fund. A fifth round is happening now, and the lawsuits are likely to continue until the fuel is removed.
"All told, the country’s many abandoned nuclear facilities — including Maine Yankee — have cost the federal government billions of dollars, a sum that increases by about $2 million each day, according to Eric Howes, the spokesperson for Maine Yankee and two other decommissioned plants in New England.
" 'All the #taxpayers in the United States are paying for the government’s failure to meet its obligations,' he said.
"But as the years pass, it seems that fewer and fewer people even realize that there are tons of nuclear waste on the secured site behind a chain-link fence on Bailey Point. Hudson and others worry that for many, it’s too easy not to think about it, diminishing the drive to find a better solution.
" 'Nobody ever travels by it. Nobody ever sees it,' Hudson said. 'It’s the classic out of sight, out of mind.' "
Experts warn #Trump’s #nuclear blitz could trigger ‘Next #ThreeMileIsland'
by Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams
May 24, 2025
"U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed a series of executive orders that will overhaul the independent federal agency that regulates the nation's nuclear power plants in order to speed the construction of new fissile reactors—a move that experts warned will increase safety risks.
"According to a White House statement, Trump's directives 'will usher in a nuclear energy renaissance,' in part by allowing Department of Energy laboratories to conduct nuclear reactor design testing, green-lighting reactor construction on federal lands, and lifting #RegulatoryBarriers 'by requiring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (#NRC) to issue timely licensing decisions."
"The Trump administration is seeking to shorten the yearslong NRC process of approving new licenses for nuclear power plants and reactors to within 18 months.
"White House Office of Science and Technology Director Michael Kratsios said Friday that 'over the last 30 years, we stopped building nuclear reactors in America—that ends now.'
" 'We are restoring a strong American nuclear industrial base, rebuilding a secure and sovereign domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, and leading the world towards a future fueled by American nuclear energy,' he added. [And radioactive waste!!!]
"However, the Union of Concerned Scientists (#UCS) warned that the executive orders will result in 'all but nullifying' the NRC's regulatory process, 'undermining the independent federal agency's ability to develop and enforce #safety and #security requirements for commercial nuclear facilities.'
" 'This push by the Trump administration to usurp much of the agency's autonomy as they seek to fast-track the construction of nuclear plants will weaken critical, independent #oversight of the U.S. nuclear industry and poses significant safety and security risks to the public,' UCS added.
"#EdwinLyman, director of nuclear power safety at the UCS, said, 'Simply put, the U.S. nuclear industry will fail if safety is not made a priority.'
" 'By fatally compromising the independence and integrity of the NRC, and by encouraging pathways for nuclear deployment that bypass the regulator entirely, the Trump administration is virtually guaranteeing that this country will see a serious accident or other #radiological release that will affect the health, safety, and livelihoods of millions,' Lyman added. 'Such a disaster will destroy public trust in #NuclearPower and cause other nations to reject U.S. #nuclear technology for decades to come.'
"Friday's executive orders follow reporting earlier this month by NPR that revealed the Trump administration has tightened control over the NRC, in part by compelling the agency to send proposed reactor safety rules to the White House for review and possible editing.
"#AllisonMacfarlane, who was nominated to head the NRC during the Obama administration, called the move 'the end of independence of the agency.'
" 'If you aren't independent of political and industry influence, then you are at risk of an accident,' Macfarlane warned.
"On the first day of his second term, Trump also signed executive orders declaring a dubious 'national energy emergency' and directing federal agencies to find ways to reduce regulatory roadblocks to 'unleashing American energy, including by boosting #FossilFuels and nuclear power.
"The rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence systems is creating a tremendous need for energy that proponents say can be met by nuclear power. The Three Mile Island nuclear plant—the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history—is being revived with funding from #Microsoft, while #Google parent company #Alphabet, online retail giant #Amazon, and #Facebook owner #Meta are among the competitors also investing in nuclear energy.
" 'Do we really want to create more #RadioactiveWaste to power the often dubious and questionable uses of #AI?' #JohannaNeumann, Environment America Research & Policy Center's senior director of the Campaign for 100% #RenewableEnergy, asked in December.
" '#BigTech should recommit to solutions that not only work but pose less risk to our #environment and #health,' Neumann added."
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-nuclear-2672196220/
#RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #BigTech #EnvironmentalRacism #UraniumMining #NuclearWaste #TEPCOLies #TrumpLies
#HoltecLies #WaterIsLife #NuclearPowerPlants #Datacenters #AIPollution #MicrosoftSucks #TrumpSucks #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree #CancerRates #Downwinders #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies
Oh yeah. Fast-tracking a #NuclearPlant restart is such a good idea...NOT!
#ThreeMileIsland nuclear plant reboot fast-tracked to 2027
By Laila Kearney
June 25, 2025
Excerpt: "Despite the enthusiasm, nuclear power plant projects have historically been far over budget [leaving taxpayers on the hook] and behind schedule [which is why nuclear plant companies often fabricate and lie about details. They milk it for all it's worth!]
"No fully shut nuclear power plant has been restarted, but at least one other attempted restart - of the #PalisadesNuclearPlant in #Michigan - is under way.
"As the technology industry drives U.S. electricity demand to record highs, nuclear power has broadly seen a resurgence of interest after decades in decline. New York plans to build a new nuclear power plant, which would be one of the first to be constructed in a generation."
Plan would power new #Microsoft #AI #DataCenter with electricity from Pa.'s #ThreeMileIsland #nuclear reactor
Constellation Energy is prepared to invest $1.6 billion to bring the plant's surviving reactor from the 1979 meltdown back online.
By Michael Tanenbaum, PhillyVoice Staff
September 20, 2024
Excerpt: "Tech companies favor nuclear power for AI
"In the race to develop artificial intelligence applications, tech companies are scrambling to build data centers, which require enormous amounts of electricity to operate. Such facilities are forecast to make up a growing share of the nation's electricity use in the years to come, prompting companies to look at tapping into existing infrastructure to help meet their needs.
"#NuclearPower is being touted as a cost-effective solution for these data centers that also limits reliance on carbon-producing power sources. Building and directly connecting data centers to nuclear plants is known as co-location, a strategy that industry leaders favor because it's cheaper and faster to do. Proponents also claim it reduces stress on the transmission grids.
[...]
"When Constellation signaled interest in restarting Three Mile Island in July [2024], doubts surfaced about the technical feasibility of the project. Not only would it be the first of its kind, but it will have to be accomplished next to another reactor whose clean-up and decommissioning is expected to continue through 2078.
"The site also remains politically contentious due to the lasting memory of the 1979 accident, which displaced surrounding communities and left a legacy of fear over whether the #radiation released contributed to increased #cancer rates in the vicinity. About 2 million people were exposed to #RadioactiveFallout as a result of the meltdown.
"Public health researchers from Temple, Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh published a report last year finding that long-term studies into the impact of the meltdown were limited by research flaws."
#WaterIsLife #NuclearPowerPlants
#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #BigTech #NuclearWaste #RethinkNotRestart #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree #Pennsylvania #CancerRates
What is the damage caused so far by Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, and what are experts saying about the risks of contamination and other disasters? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/20/world/iran-nuclear-contamination-risks/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #iran #israel #middleeast #nuclearenergy #nuclearwaste
Iran is poised to reject a U.S. proposal to end a decades-old nuclear dispute because it fails to address Tehran's interests or soften Washington's stance on uranium enrichment, an Iranian diplomat says. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/03/world/politics/iran-us-nuclear-proposal-diplomat/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #iran #nuclearweapons #us #nuclearenergy #nuclearwaste
“…inaction has consequences and delaying the project could cause the very environmental harms that everyone wants to protect against!”
Nuclear semiotics is an interdisciplinary field of research with the goal of communicating nuclear waste warning messages well into the next 10,000 years. Attempts include written messages, physical markers, artificial satellites, and a song designed to be "so catchy and annoying that it might be handed down from generation to generation over a span of 10,000 years".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amn3kn0XPLQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_nuclear_waste_warning_messages
“Let’s be honest. Navigating a colonial court system is not easy. The courts are not built for us or the concerns we bring forward. But this is the system we must use. And we will continue to use them with strength and determination.”
@silkester
I may be loonatic, but to the best of my knowledge, the idea that managing nuclear waste safely over hundreds of thousands of years is impossible and that all containment inevitably fails within a century is not supported by current scientific understanding and technological progress.
1. Multi-Barrier Approach and Container Longevity
Modern nuclear waste disposal relies on a multi-barrier system combining engineered containers, buffer materials, and stable geological formations. While individual containers may degrade over centuries, the overall system is designed so that multiple layers provide overlapping protection for much longer periods. For example, copper or steel canisters used in deep geological repositories are engineered to resist corrosion for thousands to tens of thousands of years under repository conditions. [1][2]
2. Geological Stability and Site Selection
Deep geological repositories are sited in geologically stable formations, such as crystalline bedrock or clay formations, chosen for their minimal seismic activity and tectonic stability over geological timescales. While tectonic plates do move, repository sites undergo extensive geological assessment to ensure stability for at least hundreds of thousands of years, mitigating risks of disturbance. [2][3]
3. Proven and Developing Technologies
Countries like Finland and Sweden have advanced repository projects (e.g., Onkalo in Finland) that demonstrate the feasibility of safe long-term disposal. These repositories are designed to isolate high-level waste for up to a million years, with scientific consensus supporting their safety and environmental soundness. [4][5][6]
4. Misconceptions about Chernobyl’s Sarcophagus
The Chernobyl “second dome” was an emergency containment structure designed to limit radioactive release after an accident, not a long-term waste repository. Its challenges do not reflect the engineered, purpose-built deep geological disposal facilities designed for nuclear waste management.
5. Radioactivity Decay and Waste Hazard Reduction
The radioactivity and heat output of high-level waste decline significantly over time. After about 40–50 years in interim storage, waste radioactivity drops to a fraction of its initial level, making handling and disposal safer. This decay process is a key reason for the interim storage period before final disposal [4][6]
I’m not asking you to simply believe me; I’m just asking you to consider that I am trying to follow the facts wherever they lead. I have no emotional or personal preference for or against nuclear energy. Please, if you have sources that contradict my information, share them with me so that I can reconsider my informed opinion.
To the best of my knowledge, managing nuclear waste safely over very long timescales is a complex but well-studied challenge with scientifically validated solutions.
[1] https://content.ampp.org/corrosion/article-abstract/75/3/309/1880/Lifetime-Predictions-for-Nuclear-Waste-Disposal?redirectedFrom=fulltext
[2] https://nda.blog.gov.uk/the-science-behind-long-term-safety-of-a-gdf/
[3] https://www.planete-energies.com/en/media/article/radioactive-waste-management
[4] https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-waste/radioactive-wastes-myths-and-realities
[5] https://www.planete-energies.com/en/media/article/radioactive-waste-management
[6] https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-waste/storage-and-disposal-of-radioactive-waste
"The govt intends to demonstrate the soil, which retains low-level radioactivity, is suitable for public works projects and other purposes across Japan"
"Previous attempts in Tokyo and other areas to use the soil have been halted due to local opposition"
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250527/p2g/00m/0na/060000cPR event for the next Gojira movie and/or next batch of nuclear power plants?
#Fukushima #NuclearWaste #Tokyo
#AgentOrangeTrump bereitet sein Land auf eine strahlende Zukunft vor
#usa #america #trump #maga #nuclearwaste #duetschland #energiewende #climatecrisis #klimakrise
Revealed: three tonnes of uranium legally dumped in protected English estuary in nine years https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/22/revealed-uranium-from-uk-nuclear-fuel-factory-dumped-into-protected-ribble-estuary #NorthofEngland #Nuclearwaste #Nuclearpower #Environment #Preston #England #Energy #UKnews #Waste
United Nations human rights experts have written to the Japanese government to express their concerns about Tepco's release of over a million metric tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean
The US buried millions of gallons of wartime nuclear waste – Doge cuts could wreck the cleanup https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/15/us-government-nuclear-waste-doge #Washingtonstate #Nuclearwaste #Nuclearpower #Environment #Worldnews #WestCoast #USnews #Waste