LLAW’s ‘All Things Nuclear’ #455 (11/19/2023)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”

LLAW’s COMMENTARY: (A basic Primer on Plutonium and other Nuclear Waste, and Why it is so Dangerous)

To get back to some of my earlier introductory Posts where I often demonstrated how the the many steps and processes of mining, milling, refining, and eventually burning uranium fuel in nuclear reactors to provide electricity for human use from nuclear power plants, so tonight’s short lesson will be limited to the most dangerous waste product of all called plutonium and why the United States, which operates the most nuclear power plants in the nuclear power plant world doesn’t recycle plutonium (which has a half-life of 24,000, yes 24 thousand years) but insanely adds it to the very, very, serious radiation dangers of storing it all over the surface of our country in concrete, water, or earthen containers or caskets.

Following is an easily understood, well written paragraph from “Quora” addressing the prevailing opinion about why nuclear fuel, including plutonium and cesium, should be recycled: “The United States has erroneously been under the perception that it’s not cost-effective to recycle spent nuclear fuel. It also has fear that recycling could lead to building new nuclear weapons. The USA can thank former President Jimmy Carter for the ignorance he spread in 1977 when [he] ordered the USA to bury spent nuclear fuel deep underground. (I will add, though, that Jimmy Carter was not ignorant at all; he was absolutely correct, except that in a real world of care and caution, there would be no such thing as nuclear bombs, nuclear power plants, or anything else nuclear. (The Carter era was the last time we had a chance to internationally ban ‘all things nuclear, although JFK called for ending ‘all things nuclear’ in the early '60s.)

“France, for example, uses up to 80% recycled fuel. They save a ton of money by reducing storage costs . . . [A] non-cost effective thing would be to try to separate bomb related materials from spent fuel. The chemistry requirements are staggering and you are dealing with a highly radioactive material. So, the USA need[s] only to overcome fear and ignorance to be able to recycle spent nuclear fuel.” (This last sentence is also wrong, only because ‘fear and ignorance’ prevails in the entire perspective of nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants, but in absolute opposing perspectives.)

The following simple graph of how the nuclear power process works is posted below. The diagram of how plutonium is to be recycled, according to proper operating procedures is shown below. You can easily see that in the case of recycling nuclear waste (such as plutonium (that shows plutonium returning from ‘spent fuel reprocessing’ back to ‘fuel reprocessing’ when in actuality the highly radioactive plutonium goes straight down to ‘interim storage’ and on to ‘permanent storage’ (which does not exist, by the way, so that’s another lie); so you see, we are living a dangerous set of more lies, among an abundance of others from the nuclear industry here in the USA, once again subjecting ourselves to entirely unnecessary risks and nuclear radiation danger in the dirty, dangerous world of “All Things Nuclear”, including the cycling process of our own nuclear power plants - of which the USA has by far the most of than any other nation. ~llaw

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category. There are two Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in this Post. If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today.

(Just a reminder: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS:

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

A four-decade-old Pacific treaty was meant to preserve the 'peaceful region'. Now experts ...

The Guardian

... nuclear weapons states “are all opposed”. But Mangioni, a member of the ... about nuclear testing legacies. It's the same regional sentiment that ...

Why North Korean Nuclear Blackmail Is Unlikely – Analysis - Eurasia Review

Eurasia Review

... all North Korean territory, but also the military superpower USA, which has ... things-worse_toby-daltonvan-jackson; Brad Roberts, “The Plausible ...

$1.6 million in tax revenue on the line for Wiscasset in dispute over nuclear waste facility

The Maine Monitor

“And one of the things that Maine Yankee has to prove in that litigation, is that all of the spending … is 'just and reasonable.' ” Not taking ...

Nuclear Power

NEWS

France test-fires long-range ballistic missile to boost nuclear deterrence

France 24

... powered by continuous thrust until they reach their target. (Reuters) ... North Korea amends constitution to reinforce nuclear power status. On ...

Eiffage wins 4 bln euro order for French next-generation nuclear plants - Reuters

Reuters

French construction group Eiffage late on Thursday said it won a contract worth more than 4 billion euros ($4.34 billion) to carry out the main ...

The genealogy of nuclear fear | Krzysztof Tyszka-Drozdowski | The Critic Magazine

The Critic

... nuclear renaissance, but rather the onset of nuclear schizophrenia. In 1956, the UK built its first commercial nuclear power plant. The atmosphere ...

Nuclear War

NEW

Exclusive: Jill Stein's Ominous Warning on Growing Threat of Nuclear War - Newsweek

Newsweek

... nuclear submarine." "The world won't survive this," she warned. "And yes, we're not at nuclear war now, but could a nuclear war be triggered?

Growing geopolitical risk stoking East Asian nuclear concerns, says expert - Nikkei Asia

Nikkei Asia

... nuclear bombs in any Taiwan war. If China attacks Taiwan, it will "highly likely use its nuclear threat ... to urge Japan to remain neutral," says ...

Opinion | How to slow the U.S.-Russia-China nuclear arms race - The Washington Post

The Washington Post

While a nuclear weapon has not been used in combat since World War ... Moreover, Russia has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons during its war ...t

Nuclear War Threats

NEW

Israeli threat to nuke Gaza turns spotlight back on regime's nuclear weapons - Press TV

Press TV

Israel's reckless nuclear threats have drawn sharp criticism from ... Israel Palestine Gaza war Gaza Strip nuclear weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty ...

Why North Korean Nuclear Blackmail Is Unlikely – Analysis - Eurasia Review

Eurasia Review

First, North Korea might use or threaten to use nuclear weapons to prevent its own defeat amidst an ongoing war—either verbally threatening to ...

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Yellowstone supervolcano warning as eruption would 'bring world to its knees' | Science

Daily Express

Yellowstone volcano's magma chamber mapped in documentary ... Supervolcanoes are among the most sinister natural creations Earth has to offer. They go ...

Reykjanes Volcano Update: Latest InSAR Image | VolcanoDiscovery

Volcano Discovery

Yellowstone quakes · Latest earthquakes under Yellowstone volcano. List and interactive map of current and past earthquakes near Yellowstone volcano.