I’m not saying its not harmful, but it does drop in risk over time, and it is concentrated. In comparison, one waste rock dump I’m dealing with is about 237 ha in size, and contains 21 million tonnes of ML/ARD generating waste rock. Another mine I know will contain 3 billion m3 of tailings in their tailings storage facility.
Dealing with any waste is not cheap, though the level of effort is smaller with nuclear than traditional mining wastes. If you store the waste in engineered drums/cells etc. which are water tight and stick them underground, after siting the storage location well, you’re in pretty good shape.
I’m not saying its not harmful, but it does drop in risk over time, and it is concentrated. In comparison, one waste rock dump I’m dealing with is about 237 ha in size, and contains 21 million tonnes of ML/ARD generating waste rock. Another mine I know will contain 3 billion m3 of tailings in their tailings storage facility.
Dealing with any waste is not cheap, though the level of effort is smaller with nuclear than traditional mining wastes. If you store the waste in engineered drums/cells etc. which are water tight and stick them underground, after siting the storage location well, you’re in pretty good shape.
I won’t contest nuclear plant upkeep.
How long are those drums good for? I wouldn’t count on anything staying leakproof for a hundred years, let alone thousands.