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RE: Nuclear: Safest of Conventional Power Sources?
Have you heard about the new small modular nuclear reactor design that Nuscale Power has been developing. It is really impressive from what I have seen. It is also supposedly meltdown proof. So much so that their design has been fast tracked by the regulatory entities. I reached out to them via their Facebook page to ask how they handle the waste that is left over and they actually replied to me with a informative well thought out answer. I was shocked.
Wow that is very cool! What did they say?
Sorry for the length but since you asked 😄...
Jay, thank you for your question. What's interesting is that used nuclear fuel still has considerable energy available, and could be recovered.There are existing and new technologies on the drawing boards today that can utilize this fuel. We have demonstrated that used fuel can be safely transported and stored, as needed. The NuScale design will also be able to take advantage of advanced fuel designs in development, when they are ready, which hold real promise to reduce the inventory of used fuel. In addition, the NuScale plant design incorporates proven safe, secure, and effective used fuel management systems. Used fuel is stored underwater in a stainless steel lined concrete pool for at least 5 years. The concrete pool is well below grade as is part of the reactor building; a highly robust structure designed to Seismic Category 1 and aircraft impact resistant requirements, capable of withstanding a variety of severe natural and man-made phenomena. The facility design includes on-site dry cask storage of the used fuel for the life of the facility, or until such time that the used fuel can be ultimately stored at a permanent long-term used fuel repository.
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That's really interesting...thanks for sharing!