That 'wonder fuel' at Idaho National Lab is now radioactive waste that won't go away

[n2doc]

In the early days of atomic energy, the federal government powered up an experimental reactor in Idaho with an ambitious goal: create a “wonder fuel” for the nation.

The reactor was one of the nation’s first “breeder” reactors — designed to make its own new plutonium fuel while it generated electricity, solving what scientists at the time thought was a looming shortage of uranium for power plants and nuclear weapons.

It went into operation in 1964 and kept the lights burning at the sprawling national laboratory for three decades.

But enthusiasm eventually waned for the breeder reactor program owing to safety concerns, high costs and an adequate supply of uranium.

Today, its only legacy is 26 metric tons of highly radioactive waste. What to do with that spent fuel is causing the federal government deepening political, technical, legal and financial headaches.

more
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-na-idaho-nuclear-waste-2017-story.html

[JayhawkSD]

1. That article sets a new record.

For the most words and the least actual information.
Mostly it simply tells us that the government won't say what's going on.

[hunter]

2. First you don't adequately fund the project or train enough scientists and engineers...

... to tackle the problem.

Then you claim the project is a failure and piss away indefinitely whatever inadequate budget you have on contractors who have no real incentive to complete the work.

The reactor ran from 1965 to 1995.

Here's the Wikipedia article about the plant:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_Breeder_Reactor_II



This interesting history is from the Wikipedia external links:

http://www2.ans.org/pubs/magazines/nn/docs/2004-2-2.pdf

I think it's fascinating how people freak out about nuclear stuff when they voluntarily expose themselves to toxic carcinogenic non-nuclear waste every day, especially that generated by automobiles.

In any case it will be global warming that destroys this civilization and what's left of the natural environment our species proliferated in, especially as we accelerate our use of "clean natural" gas. There ain't nothing clean or natural about this gas and with known "reserves" of a century thanks to modern extraction techniques, we humans have got plenty enough rope to hang ourselves.

[Doug the Dem]

3. In other words, wonder fuel ain't wonderful

Sorry. Had to say it.