this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2024
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[–] afraid_of_zombies 29 points 10 months ago (48 children)

Maybe one day we will produce a civilization capable of using technology as it comes out instead of one that decided to call it quits decades ago. Oh sure we got cellphones but we are still burning coal. Because nuclear is scary.

[–] Theharpyeagle 26 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

I think nuclear energy is a great idea in theory, but I have absolutely zero trust in companies handling nuclear waste responsibly. It's not like they have a great track record.

That being said, pretty excited about this if it's as safe as they say.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

So nationalize them. Problem solved.

[–] Theharpyeagle 2 points 10 months ago

That's the dream!

[–] CeruleanRuin 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Do you trust our current governmental structures to manage something with that much potential for harm when it goes wrong? I sure don't. Sure, it might go great for a long while, but then you get one far-right administration that wants to cut regulations.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

How many nukes does the US have?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I trust them far more than greedy corporations run by greedy billionaires, absolutely. For many reasons, not the least of which is the elimination of the profit motive.

You're acting like we don't already have these. This isn't new and we have tons of prior experience to learn from.

[–] CeruleanRuin 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I wish I could be as optimistic as you are.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Lol if only you knew how wrong that statement was.

[–] afraid_of_zombies 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

You have every right to not trust companies, I don't either. Good thing we have multiple government regulators and multiple non-profit engineering/standards boards also involved.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (4 children)

That's why there were no incidents in Japan a decade ago. Especially not after multiple reports of potential danger 🤷‍♂️.

I have the same reserves as the person you commented on. "We" may have great agencies working to prevent issues, but it's not the case everywhere in the world. And if you want to use fission as a solution for climate change, you need to have every developing country to use it too, whatever the stability of the region.

Just look at Ukraine where the safety of one their reactor is on the line because of the war, and the mines Russia put all over. Chernobyl 2.0 if things go wrong :(

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[–] Theharpyeagle 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Sure, I just want to feel confident that said regulations actually have teeth and the punishment can't just be factored into the cost of doing business.

So, yes, I'm scared. Maybe that's not rational, but I don't want to look back in 40 years and find out we were wrong about the longevity of nuclear waste storage, or that the many minor infractions over the years have slowly built up into a real problem. I don't want to discover that we've been outsourcing the most dangerous work to developing countries with less employee and environmental protections than our own. If there's a viable method that's inherently safer, I'd feel a little better about it.

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[–] miak 2 points 10 months ago (10 children)

From what I recall of Three Mile Island, I don't know that I'd put a lot of trust in the NRC.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm pretty sure Three Mile Island is more of a case study in how safety measures at nuclear plants can work.

[–] miak 3 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Except it took a whistle blower to point out the reckless behavior during the clean-up to prevent a potential catastrophic event when the NRC was all for signing off on the reckless plan. That, plus the poor communication with the surrounding communities did not help the people there feel confident that their safety was being looked after

It's not been uncontested through out history, and I won't pretend that I follow the updates closely, but there have been studies suggesting increased cancer rates in the surrounding communities.

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[–] Sylvartas 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Well, that's why you put well funded, independent organizations in charge of setting and enforcing the rules around this kind of stuff

And you don't just give them the power to fine the companies exploiting the reactors, you give them the power to unilaterally decide to shut down the reactors if they deem it necessary

[–] alekwithak 3 points 10 months ago

With a rigorous set of ethics and standards so the industry doesn't end up being overseen by a bunch of retired executives or getting kick-backs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

We're currently trusting them to deal with all the filth that comes out of fossil fuel based power facilities. There's a lot of very long lived awful waste that is produced.

[–] CeruleanRuin 4 points 10 months ago

It's kind of a devil-you-know thing, isn't it?

Like, we've seen on a limited scale what can happen when nuclear isn't handled properly, and then we've also seen what kind of catastrophic messes the fossil fuel industry creates with our current fuel sources. It's not a big leap of imagination to scale up Fukushima and Chernobyl to a global reach comparable to coal and oil.

Our corporations have shown they will cut every corner available - even when heavily regulated - and our governments have shown they are too incompetent to properly enforce the regulations they do out on the books. It shouldn't be any surprise that people are reluctant to get behind nuclear. Anyone who isn't is hideously naive.

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