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Ecoman1949
Guest
I wonder how a nuclear reactor would withstand a 160 MPH hurricane? It probably has happened somewhere in the world already.
Factor in a tsunami that damaged a reactor in Japan, process failures that caused the Three Mile Island core meltdown in the US, engineering and process problems that caused the Russian disaster in Chernobyl, and you will understand why a lot of countries are moving away from nuclear power plants. Many countries including Canada have aging plants and the cost of refurbishment has risen to the point where it’s not economically feasible anymore. The Point Lepreau reactor in New Brunswick is actually built on a fault zone. That was factored in during construction. Should anything happen and a release of radioactive gases occur, the prevailing winds in Atlantic Canada blow west to east so my area has an impact potential. The elephant in the room is where to store the spent fuel. I remember reading a report in the 90’s on the current state of the US DOD Nevada radioactive waste storage facility. At that point the estimated cost of cleanup of the facility was in the trillions of dollars. That’s only one site. There are hundreds around the world. The up front infrastructure costs to build a plant is minuscule compared to the long term costs of storage, reprocessing and final disposal of the waste. A small country like the DR can’t afford to take on those liabilities. If they did and an accident occurred, they would need massive outside assistance from other countries. Other countries would intervene before this occurred because the threat is real. In a country still trying to supply basic infrastructure, clean potable water sources, sewage treatment and decent roads, the development of nuclear powered electrical generating facilities is not going to happen.
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