The Nuclear Debate.

The Nuclear Debate.

This latest rumour regarding nuclear power stations has the populace running around like a bunch of Corporal Joneses. Although, I would echo the old corporal's sentiments and declare:

"Don't panic Mister Mainwaring, don't panic."

Most argument against the commissioning of these new generating plants is in regard to the problems of safe decommissioning at the end of their useful life.

But whatever relatively small amounts of the highly active nuclear waste is produced, it's destined to be buried in the depths of these otherwise redundant sites, it will be encased within vitrified rock (glass) whereby the radioactivity will decay at an extremely slow rate over many years.

But you have to bear in mind that this atomic degrading action has been happening naturally all around us for many millions of years. Many rocks, granite for instance, are radioactive and this radiation has been dissipating amid large and concentrated deposits with since the day that they were formed in their molten state back to almost the beginning of time. We are also bombarded on clear days by potentially deadly solar radiation from our sun.

Until the boffins' can crack the problems of economically separating water into its two basic elements (oxygen and hydrogen) each of which are fuels that can be exploited to make heat and thus power, or come up with some other futuristic energy such as fusion, nuclear power is the only practical way to go.

Coal was once the only way to go but coal did have its drawbacks. Many were injured or killed in the mining of it. Others were choked to death (pneumonicosis, lung cancer etc) from the smoke exuded from countless factory and home fires.

Oil had its casualties too, both in the drilling for it and the fighting for it (see what's happened in the Middle East). I doubt that anything like those casualty figures will be a feature of the newer nuclear age either during or after the operating life of the power generating stations.

Let's all go forward and not back. If we don't do it our economic rival's will. You know it makes sense.

AWA.