Britain's nuclear waste......

[Papaumau]

( Copied from my own consumer forum....).

Many years ago and when we first started to build nuclear power-stations they had a two-fold use: 1). They could expensively heat water to make steam to generate electricity and 2). A couple of the fissionable by-products of these plants could be used to make nuclear weapons.

Now that we have a large stockpile of plutonium and enriched uranium for our nuclear weapons need this one of the requirements of nuclear power-stations is less important, ( especially when we are supposed to be part of the world non-proliferation treaty that makes us get rid of a lot of our stockpile of nuclear warheads ).

Because nuclear power-stations do not put out any CO2 pollution in their energy-making capabilities this and past governments have tried to tell us that they are non-polluting. Nothing could be further from the truth !

Since we started to generate electricity using nuclear plants there has been a large and ever-growing stockpile of low, medium and high nuclear waste being gathered in many places around the country. Because of this the London government have been of the opinion that we should find "good" areas where we can bury this waste deeply in rock-strata where it would be out of sight and out of mind.

Most of the environmental scientists believe that this would be a short-sighted and dangerous way to go as there would be no guarantee that leakage from this waste would not turn up again - via seismic action - in the environment. As a result they have advised that until we can find some better way to deal with this waste it should be stored above ground in protected places where we can watch it and monitor it for as long as is required.

NOW... to come to my beautiful Scotland:

At the moment much of this surface-stored waste is located in Cumbria - ( not surprisingly, well away from London and the highest conurbations of people ) - but as Scotland is said to have the best and most stable deep rock strata there has been suggestion that this would be the best place to bury the problem.

Of course we Scots do not agree that Scotland should become the dumping ground for any or all of the nuclear waste which is at the moment stored at the surface and close to where it was created !

The SNP Scottish Parliament have ruled out the building of ANY of the new traunch off nuclear power-stations that are in the planning stage and they are not in favour of any nuclear waste being transported to storage facilities either by land , sea or air to places where it was not created.

I would hope that the "British" government to NOT get their way in this respect !

Don't you ?

[John]

Nuclear Power is the only viable way to produce power
to sustain large populations.

It is in fact cheap power. The expensive part is myth.

This is the reason why many Countries strive for nuclear power.

It remains the only long term viable and sustainable  source of
electrical power generation at this time.

[Papaumau]

Nuclear Power is the only viable way to produce power
to sustain large populations.

It is in fact cheap power. The expensive part is myth.

This is the reason why many Countries strive for nuclear power.

It remains the only long term viable and sustainable  source of
electrical power generation at this time.

Sheesh....here we go again......

Nuclear power is NOT the only "viable" way to produce power to sustain large populations - even if the present government would have you naively thinking that this is the case.

Nuclear power is in fact VERY expensive power if one takes the cost of the decomissioning of these plants into the initial cost of building and running them. The government do not want us to even THINK about that one !

If the renewables were used as they should be - as we do in Scotland - I think you would find that there would be no need for nuclear power-stations at all....anywhere in Britain.

The London government have always only paid lip-service to use of the renewables down South and once their hand is forced by the shortages of oil, gas and coal we will start to see just how effective the renewables really can be.

If the peoples of England and Wales were as pro-active as the peoples of Scotland have been Blair would never have been able to plan to build up to another 10 of these dirty beasts.

[John]

This government have dithered on its support for nuclear power.

Hardly leading from the front on the matter.

But the fact remains that nuclear power is cheap and proven
power generation.

Scotland has only a small population compared to England.

They also have 40 percent of the Island land mass.

There are many more trees to hug per person...

[Papaumau]

John....

I was waiting for you to say that there is hundreds of years of coal reserves under Britain but you didn't !?

I wonder - if this IS the case - why did Thatcher kill off the mining industry and destroy so many communities in the process ?

I will tell you why shall I ?

It was because she could buy the coal from the third world cheaper than we could dig it up at home. It was sad then that slave labour abroad could kill off work in this country and it is still sad that this is happening today.

At least we may find the home coal industry picking up again in the future if the work being done in Scotland and America and Japan and Germany that should allow us to burn coal cleanly by using carbon and sulphur capture and storage would mean that the coal-fired power-stations of the future along with proper use of the renewables will stop the building of dangerous nuclear power stations.

I guess to see the future one has to have the skill and capability and desire to look at what might be possible then.

[Billtr96sn]

Nuclear IS cheap and IS the only way forward. These so called 'Green' solutions like wind farms, are,  in fact, just a sop to the eco, tree huggers out there and produce (In their manafacture) more 'greenhouse' gases than a Nuclear power plant.

[John]

Coal mining underpinned so much of the industrial
greatness that the UK was built on. That it should
never be forgotten.

Coal mining as we know was one of the great
nationalised industries. Mainly because it
had gone on to provide power generation, gas
and electricity.

Then became a difficulty when it could be mined
and brought into the UK at a much lower price.
Not assisted by the control and expectations
of the Union.

This had little to do with slave labour, more about
the ease it could be mined. Most labour is far
cheaper abroad - full stop.

Cheap labour has nothing to do with what you
are actually paid, against what you are paid
to cover being the most taxed Country in the
World. The higher profit that foreign firms
have come to love the UK for.

There is coal still being mined by private companies.
They have made and make a profit, expanding
when they can.

[Oldwrinklyone]

Over-population is causing the problem, birth control is the solution.

[John]

You're on the wrong topic... 

[Oldwrinklyone]

If the world wide population was reduced to a sustainable level, there would be no need for nuclear power.

[John]

Noted.

Some cultures are not the least bit interested.

Because children are their insurance in old age.

But the Chinese try and control their population
- whatever their reported faults.

It is Countries - where they have no hope in sustaining
the population and hence their children where it is
ridiculous.

While Oxfam and others are big businesses and making
a good living for themselves first. They will not spoil
their business model by mentioning this.

After so many years of providing aid to certain Countries -
this just translates as sending benefits and looking
after other populations before your own.

[Oldwrinklyone]

The Chinese are also very good at controling criminals, as the recent death sentence on a British? drug dealer demonstrated.

[Billtr96sn]

That was horrendous though, the poor man was a mental.

[John]

Another attempt at wind up by Billtr96sn

A posting borne out of a complete lack of evidence.

[lwt big cheese]

Apart from the evidence in the press!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/6906110/Akmal-Shaikh-China-warns-Britain-as-row-over-executed-Briton-intensifies.html