Nuclear Energy

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submitted 8 months ago by Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz to c/nuclear

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If nuclear waste is such a concern, why aren't breeder reactors more common, they aren't a new technology.

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[–] Emil 4 points 8 months ago

Great overview, but I have two notes:

A mention is made of the proliferation risks due to purified plutonium. But no mention is made of the difference between weaponsgrade Pu-239 and useless Pu-240. Pu-240 has the annoying characteristic that it can 'spontaneously' fission, which of course for is highly undesirable in warheads. These are mixed up and hard to separate. This simple fact makes proliferation risks at best a theoretical scenario.
Vitrification of the fission products is explained well, but is still accompanied with the obligatory "hundreds of thousands of years" comment. This is incorrect. After 300 years, these fission products are no longer radiotoxic.