Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Fuel from a nuclear reactor cannot be used to create nuclear weapons. This is a popular misconception. Nuclear fuel is only mildly enriched; weapons-grade material requires a very high level of enrichment.
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Obviously. But nuclear fuel in the wrong hands still provides material for dirty bombs. We don't want that in anybody's hands.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
The type of nuclear powerplant used in ships and submarines is a completely self-contained unit (primarily built by Westinghouse in the USA). There are no decommissioning costs - when it needs refueling, or the vessel is scrapped, you literally unbolt the thing, hoist it out of the ship, and take it back to the factory.
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I disagree. All the handling and transport has to be done by highly trained personnel and security approved entities. In some countries, nuclear waste is not recycled and has to be sequestered at high cost, financially and at some risks. And that's on top of the price of the ship's decommission.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Again, these powerplants are built with that eventuality in mind. They are enormously strong and will survive any conceivable accident in one piece, remaining intact on the ocean floor pretty much indefinitely.
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You must define indefinitely. No metal can resist the rigors of salt water. A nuclear fuel cell
must be retrieved.
But on the other hand, they used to dump nuclear waste in the high seas without a second thought, didn't they?
What happens to a stranded vessel? What happens to a vessel seized by piracy? Some ships today, worth several billions with included cargo, sail unaccompanied and unarmed...
Nuclear powered mobility is only safe under strict military control. There are too many selfish idiots on the loose...