this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2024
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Nuclear isn't perfect, but it is the best we have right now. (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago by spicytuna62@lemmy.world to c/memes@lemmy.ml
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[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Hi, I work in waste handling, and I would like to tell you about dangerous materials and what we do with them.

There are whole hosts of chemicals that are extremely dangerous, but let's stick with just cyanide, which comes from coal coking, steel making, gold mining and a dozen chemical synthesis processes.

Just like nuclear waste, there is no solution for this. We can't make it go away, and unlike nuclear waste, it doesn't get less dangerous with time. So, why isn't anyone constantly bringing up cyanide waste when talking about gold or steel or Radiopharmaceuticals? Well, that's because we already have a solution, just not "forever".

Cyanide waste, and massive amounts of other hazardous materials, are simply stored in monitored facilities. Imagine a landfill wrapped in plastic and drainage, or a building or cellar with similar measures and someone just watches it. Forever. You can even do stuff like build a golfcourse on it, or malls, or whatever.

There are tens of thousands of these facilities worldwide, and nobody gives a solitary fuck about them. It's a system that works fine, but the second someone suggests we do the same with nuclear waste, which is actually less dangerous than a great many types of chemical waste, people freak out about it not lasting forever.

[–] anachronist@midwest.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

As a friend once said "benzene is what anti-nuclear people think nuclear waste is."

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I mean, spent fuel is actually quite lethal when not packaged, but you get something like 300-400MWh out of a kilo of fuel. And that's significantly more than I'll use in my lifetime.

I'd gladly keep a kilo of dry-casked spent fuel in my house. It'd make an excellent coffee table or something, if a bit hard to move. I would absolutely not put a lifetime supply of benzene anywhere near my house.

Edit: it would make a shitty coffee table. 1 kilo of uranium oxide is just under 100ml

[–] YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The density of uranium always fucks with me. How can something that takes up so little volume weigh so much?

[–] StupidBrotherInLaw@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's thicc.

[–] oo1@lemmings.world 1 points 2 years ago

phat nucleasss

[–] nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Cyanide is used extensively in precious metal recycling too. So even reclaiming resources has a harsh chemical cost. Meeting workers from there I was surprised to say the least about how 'casually' they work with Cyanide. Clearly they have safty protocall but nothing like what I imagined something like Cyanide would call for.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago

In addition to hazardous materials regulations, I also do workplace safety, and this doesn't surprise me at aaaaall. People get really casual around stuff that kills you slowly.

[–] EisFrei@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxguides/toxguide-8.pdf

I didn't know that before but it appears cyanide does have a half-life that is a fraction of nuclear waste.

That doesn't make it or the other compounds less dangerous, of course.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

That's uhh, not what that says. One of the two mentions of half life are your body converting cyanide into thiocyanate, which will kill you and depending on your last bowel movement, make your corpse into hazardous waste itself.

The other mention is hydrogen cyanide in air, which is lighter than air and will decompose back into cyanide eventually, scattering it over a large area. Which will technically make it go away from your site, but spreading toxic waste over the countryside is illegal for a reason.