When do we get the next one?

  • Umbrias@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    The pyramids weren’t buried 1km under the surface in flowing salt which will further engulf the waste for geologic time scales.

    Also we didn’t forget about the pyramids. What does that even mean? People have lived right next to them since they were built.

    • ⚡⚡⚡@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      Also we didn’t forget about the pyramids. What does that even mean? People have lived right next to them since they were built.

      There are more pyramids than just the 3 of Giza in Egypt… During the last 100 years, multiple pyramids (probably 100s) have been found that were forgotten by humanity. There are discoveries in China, Peru, Egypt, …

      The pyramids weren’t buried 1km under the surface

      Somehow ironic. Yes, the Tomb of Tutankhamun was not buried 1km under the surface. But it was discovered 3.250 years after it was build in 1922.


      Anyway… There is Egyptology, which has the goal to find out what they have done 1000s of years ago, because we did/do not know that. We don’t know who some of the pharaohs are, some pharaohs that are mentioned haven’t even been found. He can read some of the writings, we can’t read all of them. Lots of knowledge was lost, and that’s what you need to realized when you are planning to store stuff for 1000s of years.

      • Umbrias@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        Yes there are archaeological sites which have been forgotten and rediscovered.

        Nothing you’re saying is a strong argument about self sealing deep storage waste burial sites. I don’t think you realize just how little waste nuclear reactors produce, they’re not pyramids, they’re a few barrels across years.

        • ⚡⚡⚡@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          I don’t think that you realize what can happen in thousands of years.

          BTW, it’s not me who brought up the question. There is an interesting article about it: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200731-how-to-build-a-nuclear-warning-for-10000-years-time

          And also a wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_nuclear_waste_warning_messages

          they’re a few barrels across years

          Germany alone expects it to be 10.500 tons until 2080. And that’s only the “highly radioactive” part. That’s more than a few barrels. And there are more countries on this planet than just the one I’m from…

          https://www.bge.de/de/abfaelle/aktueller-bestand/

          • Umbrias@beehaw.org
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            1 year ago

            I’m well aware of the hazards communication projects. Not really relevant to deep salt storage.

            Thousands of years is nothing across geologic time scales.

            Yeah 11 tons is literally nothing. That’s only 575 m^3 of uranium.

            That’s a third by mass of the average single German households trash production across the same time period. And it’s more dense, so less volume.

            • ⚡⚡⚡@feddit.de
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              1 year ago

              sorry for the confusion. It’s of course not 11 tons. It’s 11,000 (11k) tons. Germany uses the dot as a “thousands separator”.

              Not really relevant to deep salt storage.

              Well, I disagree with that. We can simply not imagine what happens in 10k years or how the planet looks in 10k years. And being sure that none of the many “final” storage places will be opened in the future is naive…

              BTW, in 10k years, your grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-children will live on this planet.

              • Umbrias@beehaw.org
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                1 year ago

                Ah. Even so, that’s less than the trash output of 1000 citizens. The quantity of waste is not very worrisome to me at all, especially considering all the other possible hazardous wastes from other industrial processes.

                • ⚡⚡⚡@feddit.de
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                  1 year ago

                  Ah. Even so, that’s less than the trash output of 1000 citizens

                  It’s just one country (BTW: one that spent much money looking for a final storage for decades and has not yet found it).

                  And to be honest: I’d feel better living in a country without the 11k tons of it and don’t agree with that that’s just nothing.

                  You say, it’s not much, I say, it’s too much. Yes, you can compare it with 11k tons of trash or 11k tons of poop or salt or feathers to make it look less dangerous, but it’s still 11k tons of highly radioactive waste.

                  • Umbrias@beehaw.org
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                    1 year ago

                    Right. Across eighty years. Our current methods are genuinely good, and can more than meet demand current and future.

                    Reprocessing is a more than viable solution, if you feel that demand can’t be met.