Should we consider the option of installing new nuclear power plants?

mauromar (73)in #science • 4 years ago

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In these times where it seems war has been declared on fossil fuels and cleaner alternatives are being sought, should we perhaps re-evaluate nuclear power plants as a viable alternative?

The atomic bombs dropped on Japan during the Second World War and their disastrous consequences, together with the accidents that occurred in Chernobyl and Fukushima, have spread fear of this type of technology.

But according to experts in the field, nuclear technology is constantly evolving, improving the safety of facilities and the management of radioactive waste.

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Contrary to the existing nuclear power plants, the so called 4th generation are not based on improving the previous ones to make them more reliable, but are based on a different concept.

To begin with, they are being designed to make the most of the fuels used and thus minimize the amount of waste generated, even proposing designs capable of obtaining energy from the waste that we already have stored.

Given the enormous construction cost of the current ones, it is also intended that these designs have a lower cost, both in their construction and in their commissioning, and in the cost of subsequent maintenance.

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Personally, I have a lot of respect for them and would prefer other types of energy generation, but, seeing the panel's forecasts for climate change, I don't know if we will have time for many experiments.

In addition, with the rate at which society is progressing, more and more energy is required and nuclear plants can work day and night in periods of 18 months for more than 40 years.

And since the generation of energy by fusion of hydrogen atoms is still far from being a reality, sooner or later we will have to face this decision.

We will have to trust the wisdom of our rulers, which is scarier than nuclear power.