There are 442 operating nuclear power plants (104 in the USA) that provide 15 percent of the Earth’s electrical generation. There are 65 nuclear plants under construction. There are 291 nuclear-powered submarines and ships, most military. Some 2,300 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel are produced per year. Over the past four decades, 62,000 metric tons were produced. There is no plan on what to do with this waste.
Most are aware of the three big nuclear accidents: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and the disaster in Japan. A quick Google of “nuclear accidents” reveals that nuclear accidents are part of the nuclear industry. One accident was Jan. 3, 1961 in Idaho Falls. Three more occurred before Three Mile Island. The cleanup of TMI cost $2.4 billion. Three more before Chernobyl in 1986. Nine others before Fukushima. There are six nuclear submarines lying on the ocean floor. Two are “ours,” the USS Thresher (1963) and the USS Scorpion (1968).
It is insane that we have chosen to risk the poisoning and contamination of the planet for a mere 15 percent of our electrical generating capacity. The amount of money spent on nuclear power, instead spent on safe alternatives (wind, solar, other cool stuff), could easily have replaced that 15 percent. But we decided to build 442 nuke plants, and 291 nuclear-powered war machines. Can anyone guess the chances of another accident happening?
Fred Einspruch