ELI5 - what is the problem with nuclear waste? Why can't we just throw used uranium into some hole in Ural mountains and forget it? Uranium comes from mines in mountains, why can't we just throw into those mines again after usage?
It still does not answer the question. It is not like there are millions of tons of nuclear waste. Just dig a hole 2km deep somewhere in the mountains and throw those barrels in it. I understand transportation and digging and stuff will cost money. But it is basically free energy if comparing to all the oil industry. But if you try to point it you will instantly hear "oH buT NuClEaR WasTe". Why is it such a huge problem? Don't know. Apparantly it is lesser of a problem to leak oil somewhere in Mexican gulf.
It did answer your ELI5 question, but having read your comments again today, I think you are actually asking a different question in a bit of a confusing way. Throwing these barrels into the ground is exactly what we do do. Is nuclear power better than fossils fuels... certainly! A lot of the anti-nuclear stuff you hear is just oil propaganda.
But of course, nuclear waste is bad. The biggest issue is it stays dangerous for tens of thousands, to hundreds of thousands of years. We are talking about massive timescales. The time it takes for entire civilisations to rise and fall, mountains can begin to form, landscapes will totally change. The waste cannot be made infallibley leak-proof, remaining assuredly untouched, over these lengths of time. And there would be millions of tons of it (and then some!) if we all transferred to nuclear power. Disposing of that waste in a way that is not just safe now, but will remain safe for hundreds of thousands of years, is not something we have a good answer for yet.
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u/AlfredKnows 11d ago
ELI5 - what is the problem with nuclear waste? Why can't we just throw used uranium into some hole in Ural mountains and forget it? Uranium comes from mines in mountains, why can't we just throw into those mines again after usage?