For those who are Pro nuclear?

Question

I currently live near a nuke site. They have had an ongoing clean-up lasting many, many years. This site is still an active nuclear site, by the way.

Funding just came through for yet another phase of clean-up. They are going to clean-up seven acres of soil. The cost will be one billion per acre, or seven Billion (with a "B") total.

If you are pro nuclear, how come? How can you justify the costs involved with nuke sites? These costs are "hidden" and come out of Federal tax payer dollars. Of course my local news is happily talking about it, because it means a boon of high paying jobs for the local area. About 100 jobs.

My math tells me that 100 jobs X seven BILLION dollars = completely outragous costs to run nuclear power.

So if you are pro-nuke, please present a valid argument/statment to say this is not outrageous.

Answer 1

If this clean-up has been going on for many, many years. . . that seems to indicate that the contamination is pretty old.  I take it that you probably haven't looked into how environmental regulations have changed over the past few decades much, have you?  Yeah, we've learned a lot. . . and have the massive numbers of regulations about everything to show for it.  You have to store and contain everything much, much better than you used to.  The clean-ups on the scale you describe just aren't going to be necessary anymore unless we let too many Homer Simpson types run our nuke plants and then try to hide it really well if they really s***w up.

Is it outrageous what it's costing to clean up past errors?  Sure.  But we still need to do it anyway.  Just like individuals, society, science, and the government lives and learns, though.

Answer 2

I thought the enviro-weenies opposed nuclear power in the first place?

Without going into a long dissertation, I'll leave you with this:

Every technological solution we propose in order that we may continue on our unsustainable path may solve an immediate problem but will only create even more intractable problems later and delay the day of reckoning.

That day is the day we realize the only solution is to take a step back, take a step back to simplicity and sustainability, not another step down the gangplank.

P.S.

B,  I like your math.