MovieChat Forums > Harry Reid Discussion > I hate to shit on the recently deceased,...

I hate to shit on the recently deceased, but here goes

posted 2 years ago by TearofLys (2399)
9 replies | jump to latest

The world clamors for clean energy, and the one source of "clean" energy that can actually scale to meet world demand, in nuclear. A couple of decades ago, the Department of Energy spent tens of millions of dollars to research the suitability of a site in Nevada near Las Vegas for the disposal of the nation's nuclear waste should we scale up our nuclear energy program. The site was approved and was ready to go until Harry fucking Reid killed it over "NIMBY" or some shit. So, we are still largely powered by dirty coal (and punishing our planet) instead of clean nuclear power because of Harry Fucking Reid.

I am angry he lived such a long life. I wish he would have died much sooner and more horribly.

[–] redban (5276) 2 years ago

Surprised his death didn’t get much news. I didn’t see anything on social media about it, and NYPost had a small article near the bottom of their page

[–] joej2923 (2959) 2 years ago

A big problem with nuclear energy is storing the waste safely. Nuclear waste has half lives of tens of thousands to millions of years. Another big problem are the meltdowns that endanger people who live near the reactors. I believe terrorists could convert the waste into some sort of a dirty bomb so it's not wise to just send it to a poor country. The article below notes that there have been recent earthquakes in Nevada that might have an impact on the Yucca Mountain storage area.

https://www.eenews.net/articles/quake-gives-nev-lawmakers-new-ammo-against-yucca-mountain/

[–] TearofLys (2399) 2 years ago

Nuclear waste has a half life of thousands of years, but after a mere 40 years, it only has about 1/1000th the radioactivity of when it was first removed, and there is no danger of it "melting down" or "exploding". It is just radioactive, like many things in our world are. Also, only a tiny fraction (about 0.2%) of the waste is considered high level.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-wastes-myths-and-realities.aspx

Also, meltdowns are extremely rare, and outside of the first generation (and poorly maintained) Chernobyl reactor, there has been virtually no loss of human life from reactor accidents. I think one person at Fukushima died, but that is it. No one died at Three Mile Island. In contrast, 96 people died building the Hoover dam, and that is just one of countless construction projects undertaken over the years.

[–] joej2923 (2959) 2 years ago

Your link is to the world trade federation of nuclear power companies who want to build nuclear reactors all over the world. They are not an objective source.

1/1000th of a pile of plutonium is probably enough to kill the average person but Keith Richards would probably survive. The reason why only .02% of the waste is considered high level is because both Trump/Biden RECLASSIFIED high-level waste to low-level. They're both corrupt!

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/facilities-construction/2021/12/us-affirms-new-interpretation-for-high-level-nuclear-waste/

I'm worried about long-term effects of the waste leaking into the groundwater, magma, the earth's core, etc. Not many people will die immediately but they will die of cancer after several years. The article about Three Mile Island detailed a 92 year-old lady who lost family and friends to cancer and always suspected the TMI reactor accident. Japan found a lot of thyroid issues in children near Fukushima so there are many long-term effects from nuclear accidents/waste leakage. The last link is for a study noting that there are volcanoes near Yucca Mountain that could interact with the storage facility during an earthquake or eruption. The Hoover Dam was built in 1936 so they lacked both modern technology and modern labor laws.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/03/the-three-mile-island-accident-and-the-enduring-questions-of-ties-to-cancer-and-deaths.html

https://www.science.org/content/article/mystery-cancers-are-cropping-children-aftermath-fukushima

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/08/020801075418.htm ** Yucca Mtn volcanoes **

[–] TearofLys (2399) 2 years ago

None of your arguments are compelling.

Someone 92 years old probably knows lots of people that died from cancer

Lots of people have thyroid issues. Even if these issues are due to the leak, they are still alive and leading productive lives. At the end of the day, the safety record for reactors in the western world over the past 70 years is stellar.

If it seeps into the magma (not that it is even a possibility considering how well built the storage facilities are built), so what.

Groundwater is equally protected.

I bet you have no reservations how batteries from electric cars are disposed of. They are much more a threat to our groundwater. Or how about the pollution and carbon from our coal plants?

[–] joej2923 (2959) 2 years ago

You should volunteer to have the nuclear waste storage facility built in your backyard since I say NOT IN MY BACKYARD!

All of my arguments are backed up by the links you ignored. The TMI article was basically showing that people who lived near TMI lamented all their friends/family lost to various cancers while the government/industry claimed that nobody suffered.

The Japanese tested the thyroids of children near Fukushima and found that half of them had thyroid problems and 100 of them eventually developed thyroid cancer. The article below details how people near Chernobyl developed thyroid cancer and the scientists found a linkage between the iodine and thyroid cancer. There could be other health problems among the people near Fukushima stemming from radioactive fallout that were not tested.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/higher-cancer-risk-continues-after-chernobyl

The Yucca Mountain study cited above specifically mentions how magma combined with the radioactive containers would create fissures in Yucca Mountain and potentially leak to the surface. I'm not a scientist but everybody should know that magma and radioactive waste is not a good combo. DUH!

Groundwater is not protected. Both Erin Brockovich and Dark Waters movies detailed the harm to local communities from chemicals leaking into the groundwater. Many municipalities get their drinking water from the groundwater so that is a serious problem.

I don't support the use of electric cars/batteries and I'm aware of their reliance on toxic rare earth materials. I'd rather see the US remain energy independent by using oil, gas and some renewables. There probably isn't a perfect energy source at the present moment since all of them have their own disadvantages.

[–] TearofLys (2399) 2 years ago

Can't use oil to run the grid, and even LNG pumps carbon into the atmosphere. Besides, The supply of LNG is finite, and will run out eventually (52 years to exhaust our current proven LNG reserves at current consumption). As far as safety, you seem to be intentionally overlooking the big picture - in 70 years of widespread use, there has been only one recorded death in the Western world directly related to nuclear plants. Keep in mind the modern nuclear facilities are much safer than first or second generation reactors. In contrast, tens of thousands have died mining coal in the U.S. alone (1900-2021).

I would be perfectly fine living next to a nuclear power plant. I am much more likely to suffer an accident around the house or get into a car wreck.

Great precautions would be taken to ensure spent nuclear materials were properly secured. The possibility of a doomsday scenario (seeping into groundwater) is virtually nonexistent.

If there was a better long-term solution to our energy problems, I would listen, but right now there isn't.

[–] chilone (17310) 2 years ago

His death was sad and all and I hope he got right with God but he, along with Pelosi, Schumer and the rest of the Democrat reprobates, was a scumbag of the highest order. He isn't missed.

[–] chilidoggg (13169) 2 years ago

Even Joe Manchin?