"The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, began
accepting shipments of transuranic waste this month for the first time
since February 2014 when an explosion of a drum of plutonium and
americium waste halted all deliveries"

https://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-polic...aste-facility-
receives-its-first-shipment-since-2014-accident/

It seems to me the Americans have their long-term waste repositories
built and up and running (WIPP, Yucca Mountain). What about the UK?
What are we doing with our waste?

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) "Between two evils, I always pick
(")_(") the one I never tried before." - Mae West

En el artículo , Mike Tomlinson
escribió:

What about the UK?
What are we doing with our waste?

Answering my own question:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35096566

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) "Between two evils, I always pick
(")_(") the one I never tried before." - Mae West

Can we not use the heat generated low grade though it is to make more power?
After all plutonium generators are powering spacecraft all over the Solar
system and beyond.
Brian

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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
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"Mike Tomlinson" wrote in message
...

"The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, began
accepting shipments of transuranic waste this month for the first time
since February 2014 when an explosion of a drum of plutonium and
americium waste halted all deliveries"

https://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-polic...aste-facility-
receives-its-first-shipment-since-2014-accident/

It seems to me the Americans have their long-term waste repositories
built and up and running (WIPP, Yucca Mountain). What about the UK?
What are we doing with our waste?

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) "Between two evils, I always pick
(")_(") the one I never tried before." - Mae West

On 4/28/2017 8:48 AM, Brian Gaff wrote:
Can we not use the heat generated low grade though it is to make more power?
After all plutonium generators are powering spacecraft all over the Solar
system and beyond.
Brian

Only the high level waste generates enough heat to use. I don't recall
the figures but if I said 1 watt thermal per person it would give you
the right idea. Thermoelectric generators are even more inefficient and
expensive than renewables.

As people like Walter Marshall and (I think) Jim Lovelock have said,
they would be happy to have a few kW down the garden as a compact source
for a heat pump. So would I.

And to follow up another point from the OP, Yucca Mountain has been
built but never used because of endless legal challenges.

On 4/27/2017 8:28 AM, Mike Tomlinson wrote:

"The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, began
accepting shipments of transuranic waste this month for the first time
since February 2014 when an explosion of a drum of plutonium and
americium waste halted all deliveries"

https://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-polic...aste-facility-
receives-its-first-shipment-since-2014-accident/

It seems to me the Americans have their long-term waste repositories
built and up and running (WIPP, Yucca Mountain). What about the UK?
What are we doing with our waste?


WIPP is for weapons waste. Yucca Mountain, for civil waste, is built but
has never been used because of legal challenges.

On 4/28/2017 10:54 AM, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:

On 4/28/2017 8:48 AM, Brian Gaff wrote:
Can we not use the heat generated low grade though it is to make more
power?
After all plutonium generators are powering spacecraft all over the
Solar
system and beyond.
Brian

Only the high level waste generates enough heat to use. I don't recall
the figures but if I said 1 watt thermal per person it would give you
the right idea. Thermoelectric generators are even more inefficient
and expensive than renewables.

I didn't catch the earlier part of the thread, but if the plutonium
referred to is e.g. in waste from reactors, it'll probably be the wrong
isotope. Obtaining the right one (Pu-238) would be a bloody expensive
way to generate a few hundred watts.

The suggestion was "Why not use the heat from *standard* high level
waste". The answer is that it is not, in general, economic. Trying to
think of a valid counter-example, I suppose if you had something like a
small manned scientific base in the arctic or antarctic, you might be
able to reduce the fuel cost of heating this way, although you would
still presumably need fossil fuel for electricity (and that would give
you useful waste heat). Perhaps a windy enough location could survive on
windmills and batteries (plus heat).

You could probably engineer a passive heating system which had no
dependency on electrical power. But it would not be cheap.

On 28/04/17 13:49, newshound wrote:
The suggestion was "Why not use the heat from *standard* high level
waste". The answer is that it is not, in general, economic.

And that is largely because of radiation legislation.

Throwing a semi critical lump of whatever into a cast iron aga and using
e.g. a DHW pump to control the heats of the ovens and plates is
perfectly simply and feasible.

Until Fear Of Radiation makes it completely impossible

Trying to
think of a valid counter-example, I suppose if you had something like a
small manned scientific base in the arctic or antarctic, you might be
able to reduce the fuel cost of heating this way, although you would
still presumably need fossil fuel for electricity (and that would give
you useful waste heat). Perhaps a windy enough location could survive on
windmills and batteries (plus heat).

You could probably engineer a passive heating system which had no
dependency on electrical power. But it would not be cheap.

Actually it would cost nothing if you didnt care about radiation.



--
"Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They
always run out of other people's money. It's quite a characteristic of them"

Margaret Thatcher

On 4/28/2017 2:09 PM, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 28 Apr 2017 13:55:57 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

On 28/04/17 13:49, newshound wrote:
The suggestion was "Why not use the heat from *standard* high level
waste". The answer is that it is not, in general, economic.

And that is largely because of radiation legislation.

Throwing a semi critical lump of whatever into a cast iron aga and using
e.g. a DHW pump to control the heats of the ovens and plates is
perfectly simply and feasible.

Until Fear Of Radiation makes it completely impossible

Trying to
think of a valid counter-example, I suppose if you had something like a
small manned scientific base in the arctic or antarctic, you might be
able to reduce the fuel cost of heating this way, although you would
still presumably need fossil fuel for electricity (and that would give
you useful waste heat). Perhaps a windy enough location could survive on
windmills and batteries (plus heat).

You could probably engineer a passive heating system which had no
dependency on electrical power. But it would not be cheap.

Actually it would cost nothing if you didnt care about radiation.

The problem would be that terrorists of all sorts would start
accumulating the heat sources and build themselves a bomb, probably
only a dirty bomb rather than thermonuclear, and in reality it
probably wouldn't do much damage, either explosively or
radiation-wise, but the psychological impact of a cloud of 'radiation'
spread over e.g. the City of London, would be enormous.

Back to fear of radiation, again.


High level waste has to be shielded before it is approachable. If it is
engineered into a suitable sealed container, particularly if it is large
(as it is going to be, for a useful energy source), it becomes useless
to terrorists.

On Friday, 28 April 2017 10:48:22 UTC+1, newshound wrote:
On 4/28/2017 8:48 AM, Brian Gaff wrote:
Can we not use the heat generated low grade though it is to make more power?
After all plutonium generators are powering spacecraft all over the Solar
system and beyond.
Brian

Only the high level waste generates enough heat to use. I don't recall
the figures but if I said 1 watt thermal per person it would give you
the right idea. Thermoelectric generators are even more inefficient and
expensive than renewables.

As people like Walter Marshall and (I think) Jim Lovelock have said,
they would be happy to have a few kW down the garden as a compact source
for a heat pump. So would I.

And to follow up another point from the OP, Yucca Mountain has been
built but never used because of endless legal challenges.

No, this is the reason.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_...on_Pilot_Plant

En el artículo ,
newshound escribió:

And to follow up another point from the OP, Yucca Mountain has been
built but never used because of endless legal challenges.

Yes, I'm aware of that. Thanks.

I recall seeing a news article recently that the main obstacle is the
Republican Senator for Nevada, Harry Reid, who by all accounts seems to
be a total arsehole. Reading between the lines, they're just waiting
for him to drop dead or get voted out then they can get on with
commissioning it.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ds-retirement-
may-revive-yucca-mountain-n/

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) "Between two evils, I always pick
(")_(") the one I never tried before." - Mae West