Send radioactive waste to bottom of the ocean?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hercuflea
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Ocean Radioactive
Click For Summary
The proposal to dispose of spent nuclear fuel rods in canisters at the ocean's bottom is debated due to concerns over containment and environmental impact. While water provides effective radiation shielding, the corrosive nature of seawater and potential leaks pose significant risks. Historical examples, such as the challenges faced at Chernobyl, highlight the difficulties of maintaining containment over time. Some argue that reprocessing spent fuel could reduce waste volume and long-term radioactivity, making it safer for storage. Ultimately, the consensus leans toward the need for controlled, land-based disposal methods rather than oceanic solutions.
  • #31
Steve Brown said:
My previous post is not really off topic, as it addresses the proposed method of disposing of spent fuel rods in such a way that they cannot be recovered. My point is that such disposal is not a good idea, because spent fuel rods contain recoverable fissile material which can be used in a type of reactor that does not create spent fuel assemblies to dispose of.

Thorium reactor also produces waste. Less transuranics than uranium cycle, but about the same amount of fission products. This waste needs to be disposed off just the same.
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
  • #32
nikkkom said:
Thorium reactor also produces waste. Less transuranics than uranium cycle, but about the same amount of fission products. This waste needs to be disposed off just the same.

Now it is straying off topic to debate the relative merits of light water reactors versus molten salt reactors. For that reason, I'll post my reply to your above post in the LFTR thread.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
6K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
6K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
7K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
9K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K
Replies
3
Views
5K
  • · Replies 30 ·
2
Replies
30
Views
8K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 74 ·
3
Replies
74
Views
6K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K