tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post3411470561009031109..comments2023-05-17T04:01:26.506-04:00Comments on The Neutron Economy: Yucca Mountain is dead. Long live Yucca Mountain!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12086026121605548134noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-34679347496843083992012-12-04T17:09:58.642-05:002012-12-04T17:09:58.642-05:00Well, I think you may be right and the only respon...Well, I think you may be right and the only response I have is to echo the famous words, "It is clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions." Congress wrote the NWPA into law. As I understand it, it is the function of the Executive to carry out the mandate of those laws. If they won't, why have it at all? As I understand it, the function of the judiciary is interpretation and application of the law. Its primary purpose is to serve the people by ensuring equal justice under the law. If it abdicates that responsibility, why have it? If those two branches fail in their duties under the laws passed by the legislature, it effectively neuters the power of the legislature, so why bother to have it? It appears that the NWPA is a classic example of how the system has broken down. I don't think it will result in much fuss in this case because it just involves the nuclear business, and my sense is that the public and the government would just as soon not have to bother with that, but let it happen often enough in other ways that are deemed more important, then it may very well signal the end of our system of government as we know it.JoeyThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11225080481651674635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-12772231258195296772012-12-04T09:32:33.377-05:002012-12-04T09:32:33.377-05:00@Joris: I'll make the disclaimer up-front that...@Joris: I'll make the disclaimer up-front that I'm not an expert on uranium mining - so I'm really not sure what the price relationship is between petroleum cost and uranium recovery cost. What I can say is that generally the studies I've seen indicate the price of uranium would have to rise substantially - probably well over triple the present price (and more, depending on the pessimism of the study) to make reprocessing "break even" with raw uranium cost.<br /><br />As far as ocean recovery, this is actually the subject of an upcoming (half-finished) post of mine. Basically, right now, reprocessing is cheaper - but one of the big issues is that the cost of ocean recovery may, if technological developments pan out, precpitously drop. That's great for recoverable uranium resources - it pretty much means we have 1000 years of uranium. But it also makes the economic case for reprocessing much harder.<br /><br />But then again, that's sort of the point - economics is never going to be the sole selling point for reprocessing, at least not in my lifetime absent radical new developments. Rather, reprocessing is fundamentally more about waste conditioning, which itself is contingent also upon having the other fuel cycle pieces in place, like a viable fast reactor (like GE's PRISM, the IFR, or other variants).<br /><br />As far as WIPP, I'm actually not familiar with that - I'll have to do some more research. (If you have any articles on that, I'd be most grateful).<br /><br />I think Yucca was never doomed by technical features. I'm somewhat pessimistic Yucca would go forward as of now simply because the well has been so poisoned over the original process - but let's say we did hypothetically start over and Nevada was brought in to a proper consultation. Is it *possible* that Yucca could be revived? Maybe - but I think part of the problem is that the opposition has formed much like an immune response, and as a result, you have an entrenched and hardened opposition in place now - it would be a lot harder than starting somewhere else. It doesn't mean it's impossible - especially if it were to be considered for something more temporary (like a monitored retrievable storage site). But I do think it's improbable, mainly because I think attitudes have been poisoned by the original process - something which would take significant extra effort to overcome. (Then again, maybe in 20 years this could change.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12086026121605548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-26640040779838564732012-12-04T07:36:51.859-05:002012-12-04T07:36:51.859-05:00@Steve, this is not a very comforting article. A b...@Steve, this is not a very comforting article. A bit depressing actually. Thanks for it anyway, of course.<br /><br />I have a few questions: You say reprocessing does not compete economically with mining fresh uranium. Would that change if oil prices where to double or quadruple in the coming decades? <br /><br />And what is the situation with ocean 'mining' of uranium (using absorbers). I assuming reprocessing *would* compete with that. Is that right?<br /><br />I have another question. Reading up on the WIPP project I learned that the WIPP site location was *almost* abandoned during the consultation, because of something to do with the geohydrology, but at the last moment, the WIPP was saved by the external public oversight body which urged for another look at the problem and possible solutions.<br /><br />What do you think the chances are of a future waste repository public consultation coming to the conclusion that perhaps *yucca* should be given another look, despite everything that has happened? Improbable?Joris van Dorphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04716028854724168266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-3220006573036081702012-12-03T21:11:52.646-05:002012-12-03T21:11:52.646-05:00@Joffan - I haven't read "Plentiful Energ...@Joffan - I haven't read "Plentiful Energy" yet, but I am pretty familiar with both the IFR and PRISM concepts. So I say, "fast reactor isn't here yet" pretty carefully; I am quite optimistic that we will one day (hopefully well within my lifetime) see their wide commercial deployment. At that time, reprocessing, despite its economic disadvantages, makes much more sense from a waste management perspective. I think my larger emphasis is that I think it's okay to defer reprocessing until we have a clear path for materials from spent fuel to fast-spectrum reactors, whereupon reprocessing makes much more sense.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12086026121605548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-40780913403727681682012-12-03T21:09:29.765-05:002012-12-03T21:09:29.765-05:00@JoeyT - You are absolutely correct that the Nucle...@JoeyT - You are absolutely correct that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act is still in effect, along with its subsequent amendments specifying Yucca Mountain as the nation's sole geologic repository. But here's the problem - Congress, up to this point, has declined to intervene. They can, at their discretion, act in ways to force the hand of the administration (namely by power of the purse). Up until now, they've declined. (I'm not saying this as a matter of approval, but just as an unfortunate statement of fact - Congress seems to have no real interest in enforcing the law any more than the president.) About the only hope is the intervention of the courts - and I really have little faith in that happening.<br /><br />None of this makes it right, and in a just world, there would be consequences for members of the government violating the laws that would leave us "little people" being thrown in federal prison. But in the meantime, that and a two dollars will buy you a cup of coffee. <br /><br />Ultimately, while I agree that there should be consequences for the fact that this administration has chosen to flout the law (and Congress has proven critically derelict in its duties), the law as-written is also effectively unworkable. The larger issue at hand, as I see it, is the need to get a credible, workable process restarted for high-level waste management. <br /><br />Even assuming the issue (eventually) prevails through the courts, having some kind of interim measure in place would seem to be advantageous, and in either case would begin to break the logjam which has plagued U.S. HLW management.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12086026121605548134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-24238215108742542462012-12-03T19:27:37.787-05:002012-12-03T19:27:37.787-05:00Process does matter, and the Number One process th...Process does matter, and the Number One process that should matter in a Constitutional Republic is the primacy of the rule of law. In that context, this whole Yucca Mountain thing has shaken my faith in whether we are truly a Constitutional Republic anymore. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act is still the law of the land. The NWPA says that the DoE must develop a waste repository, and that Yucca Mountain is it. As far as I know, the NWPA has not been repealed or amended to say anything different. So, from a legal viewpoint, the Obama Administration, and the DoE, are violating federal law. Now, I know what would happen to me if I violated federal law, even a "minor" one. They'd lock me up and throw away the key. So how is it that the highest government officials, as well as U.S. Senators, can violate a federal law and face no sanctions? Are laws just for the "little people"? Has the rule of law be superceded by political expediency? Perhaps it has, and I am being naive is thinking that the rule of law means anything when placed up against political popularity and the need to get re-elected.JoeyThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11225080481651674635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1236895917331192509.post-88297140882967082042012-12-03T18:47:15.277-05:002012-12-03T18:47:15.277-05:00I trust you have read the excellent "Plentifu...I trust you have read the excellent "Plentiful Energy" and its accessible description of the Integral Fast Reactor. I don't doubt that construction of a full-scale version, whether GE's PRISM or otherwise, would bring to light some practical issues, but essential it pretty much does burn all the long-lived products of fission.<br /><br />I very much hope the UK takes advantage of GE's proposal to dispose of their reprocessed plutonium stocks and then trades up to the full reprocessing version of the reactor.Joffanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18025437863119781181noreply@blogger.com