Energy: Boiling Water with Nukes is the most Dangerous and Expensive Way

1. Water Boiling:
Nuclear Power is a darned dangerous way to boil water.

That’s all a nuclear power plant does – boil water. There are many cheaper, safer ways to boil water. Nuclear power plants are not just expensive to build – they are “extremely expensive to build” – even though they use relatively low cost fuels. (“In general, coal and nuclear plants have the same types of operating costs (operations and maintenance plus fuel costs). However, nuclear has lower fuel costs but higher operating and maintenance costs.”)

2. Danger Insurance:
Nuclear Power is so dangerous – no for-profit business can afford the insurance. Governments (that means us) have to pay for (subsidize) the poor insurance. It is poor insurance because the US and other national laws limit the liability of the power plant owners.

“Globally nuclear liability risks resulting accidents are largely covered by the state, with only a small part of the risk carried by the private insurance industry. Worst case nuclear incident costs are so large that it would be difficult for the private insurance industry to carry the size of the risk, and the premium cost of full insurance would make nuclear energy uneconomic.“

Insurance for boiling water.

Hmmmm.

This is not exactly floating to the top of the good ideas pile.

Just for reference – it is 3 months since Fukushima and only now do we find out that three (3) reactors had a full meltdown. They are still burning and leaking radioactivity into the water, ocean and air – with no end in sight.

“The Union of Concerned Scientists have stated that ‘reactor owners … have never been economically responsible for the full costs and risks of their operations. Instead, the public faces the prospect of severe losses in the event of any number of potential adverse scenarios, while private investors reap the rewards if nuclear plants are economically successful. For all practical purposes, nuclear power’s economic gains are privatized, while its risks are socialized.'”

3. Waste – Not; Cooling Ponds=Major Danger:
There is no “garbage dump” to send nuclear waste; it must be stored on site in cooling ponds. Just as at Fukushima, in the US those ponds with spent fuel rods must be aggressively cooled 24/7 (constant power and water) – they are not passively storing the waste. Because Fukushima’s power and lines were damaged the waste cooling pools now pose a major hazard of separate meltdowns.

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