Nuclear energy should be considered

[davidc4430]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-09/sa-power-cuts-could-be-solved-by-nuclear-energy-say-liberals/8...

mr marshal has actually come up with a real idea.

last week he released an idea to build another airport and was shot down in flames. which in my opinion was deserved. i thought at the time, here we are having a huge problem with power and the libs decide to build an airport....HUH!

so, a week late but bravo for having the guts to utter the nuclear word. pity he couldnt go the whole way and say he would also build a nuclear storage facility but hes kinda backed himself into a corner on that.

the state labor govt has ignored our base load electricity shorfall far too long, too busy building hospitals that run way way over time and budgets  and sports arenas and bridges that fall down. only now so close to the next election have they thought...oooh, what if we have power cuts leading up to the election, we better start looking like we can fix it.

[johcaschro]

Our electricity supply in SA is a little bit unreliable, what with pylons falling like Autumn leaves when the wind blows up a bit.

Our existing electricity supply infrastructure is fragile and fails frequently, and maybe that's because it isn't very well maintained or even very well built in the first place and if so, that's the government's fault.

And you're prepared to trust our govt with nuclear power? What the Fukushima are you thinking?

[kopenhagen5]

Just read the other day that 4 sieverts can kill you.

The Fukushima power plant is reading in excess of 500 sieverts.

It should only ever be considered IF it can be safe under all circumstances and NO bi-products.

In Melbourne a train line to the airport would be good. 

Should have been done in the 1970's.

[davidc4430]

i'm allways amazed how when there are how many nuclear power stations in the world, i'm not sure but there are many, that because a couple that were either built in the wrong place or were porly maintained had catastrophic failures we should never use this technology.

if we used that reasoning we would not have an awful lot of things we use everyday.

cars kill a huge number of people, we still use cars.

smoking kills millions, second hand smoke kills many more, we still allow smoking.

but WHOOOO a few people die from nuke reactor failure and we must never use that for power.

the japanese power stations, built in an area of the worl prone to earthquakes, close to the sea i might say was pathetic planning.

south australia has almost no earthquakes, those we do have usually most people dont even notice.

i would not be building a nuke power station anywhere it might get hit by a tidal wave.

the russian cherobyl power station was allowed to run down and was not maintained by a govt that i wouldnt trust to look after a dead dog.

saying any of our governments are in that same company is rediculous, if they were everything would be stuffed up. there has been a nuclear reactor running in sydney for a very long time, why are we not screaming in the streets that we are on the brink of disaster? because as bad as we may think govt is when it counts they get it right.

[johcaschro]

Well, it all boils down to how much risk (of serious nuclear accident) we are prepared to tolerate.

I would not be comfortable in placing much trust in our govt which has shown that it cannot be trusted to provide a reliable and safe electricity service as it already stands.

It's indirectly the fault of govt regulators that "power shedding" occurs regulalry, as it is the privately owned generators which refuse to supply enough electricity when demand is high (they make more money restricting supply and then raisng the wholesale price)

"An electricity shortage in South Australia on Wednesday caused blackouts for 40,000 people. Ameo said it issued an appeal for more supply six hours in advance of the cuts but the warnings failed to motivate gas generators in the state to meet the demand, leading to claims they are gaming the system."

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/09/nsw-power-shortage-warning-after-revelation-s...

Oh, and if one visits New York in the near future it might be best to not eat the food or drink the water there.

"Sunday 7 February 2016 10.24 AEDT Last modified on Friday 11 November 2016 23.17 AEDT

Radioactive material has leaked into the groundwater below a nuclear power plant north of New York City, prompting a state investigation on Saturday and condemnation from governor Andrew Cuomo."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/06/new-york-city-groundwater-radioactivity-investigatio...

[lyndal1838]

The Lucas Heights Reactor in Sydney was opened in 1958.  So far there have been no major incidents....no babies have been born with 2 heads, no leakages have caused concern.   There were a few incidents in the early days but the authorities were overcautious if anything in the handling of these incidents.

There have been more scares with the handling of the nuclear isotopes in hospitals and during transport than there have been over the actual production of them.

 
That is a pretty good record for an installation that was going to kill thousands every time it was fired up.   I would say the medical isotopes and other items produced there have probably saved thousands of lives.

I remember as a school child going on a conducted tour of the installation....we don't have a generation of kids with problems just because they visited the Reactor.

When it was first built it was in the middle of nowhere but now there are houses built right up to the boundaries.  Most people treat it with a healthy respect but there is really nothing to be worried about.

In fact, about 10 years ago the original reactor was replaced....there was never any question of relocating it to take into account how Sydney had grown to surround it.

[kopenhagen5]

Yes HIFAR was shut down in 2007 and OPAL took it's place.

But I'm pretty sure these are very small and only do research.

[lyndal1838]

Far from it Kopes.

HIFAR was one of only 70 installations in the world capable of producing medical radioisotopes.   It used to have a very good reputation worldwide.  It may be small by world standards but it did the job very well.

OPAL is one of a small number of installations worldwide with the capacity to produce commercial quantities of medical radioisotopes.  It is also recognised as being among the best research reactors in the world.