what is done with nuclear spent fuel?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on March 16th, 2011
I, like many, really didn’t know much about nuclear power and how it worked. However, one thing I never understood was why we needed it. And I don’t mean the end product: Electricity. But why seek the electricity we need from something that has the proven potential of creating a catastrophic disaster.
Even in our naivete, if one had a choice to live close to a nuclear power plant, or be as far away as possible, we would all choose the latter.
Twenty Five years ago on April 26th, there was a massive explosion of a nuclear power plant. How could we forget Chernobyl? I bet you don’t Doug since that horrible day falls on your birthday (Did you know that?)
Anyway, if you weren’t alive to remember, I’m sure that you, like everyone else who has been glued to the news this past week, you not only know about Chernobyl, but you may know more about nuclear power than you ever thought you wanted to know. Including, exactly how nuclear power works.
And if you aren’t on the up and up on how nuclear power works, I understand. Hey, you’ve got better things to do in your evening than watch the news. Say perhaps…put together your Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Preparedness Kit?
For those of you who want to be enlightened, or are just curious as I was, a very informative segment on Maddow’s show last night tells it all. I encourage all of you to take the time to watch this. if you weren’t aware before, once you learn just how dangerous nuclear power is, I guarantee, you’ll jump on the bandwagon to end this way of generating electricity, and you’ll be a proponent of developing sustainable green energies.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
For those of you that couldn’t take the time to step away from preparing your Emergency Preparedness Kit to watch 17 minutes of Maddow above, and just want a simple explanation of how nuclear power works, here it is:
Nuclear fuel rods contain little pellets of uranium, somewhere between the size of Tootsie Roll and Cadbury eggs. Those uranium pellets are stacked inside thin, 12-foot-long metal tubes, which we call fuel rods.
That’s essentially the business end of a nuclear reactor. Big, long fuel rods like that mounted vertically, are inserted into a steel containment vessel. What’s happening inside when the reactor is going is a nuclear reaction, nuclear fission, atoms splitting. But instead of creating a nuclear explosion, it is a controlled reaction. Instead of blowing up, the nuclear reaction creates a lot of heat, and the heat is what we are after, because the heat is what these reactors use to make a whole lot of electricity.
To make that nuclear reaction that makes that heat, those uranium pellets are the fuel. And just like any fuel, it gets used up eventually. Your 12-foot-long fuel rod full of those uranium pellet, lasts about six years in a reactor, until the fission process uses that uranium fuel up. It becomes something they call “spent fuel.” What they mean is that it is degraded enough that even though it’s still wicked radioactive, it is no longer efficient for doing what nuclear power plants are supposed to do, which is generating a lot of heat, boiling a bunch of water, making a bunch of steam that spins a bunch of turbines that make electricity.
So, here’s the problem — after you’ve gotten your good six years out of your uranium pellet-filled fuel rods, what do you do with them?
Readers: That is the big question. And if you’re asking it, scroll back up and watch the video.
Doug: Thanks for posting the article.
Al and Nora: Happy to help. I’m glad that neither of you got scammed. “Hello and welcome!”, to your Dad, Nora.
Zen Lill: I’ll call you right after I post.
Notes from Anonz: It’s been awhile. Nice to see you here. As always, the information you provide us is illuminating. Thank you. I HOPE you are well.
Peace & Love…
…you know what to do.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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March 16th, 2011 at 9:35 am
Ringing in the Ears?
Debara Tucci, MD
Duke University Medical Center
If you have tinnitus, you know how annoying it is to be the only person in the room who “hears” an unwanted sound, such as ringing, buzzing, hissing or roaring. Up to 50 million Americans are bothered by this condition.
Latest thinking: Even though tinnitus is often associated with age-related hearing loss, researchers are now discovering that the telltale “ringing in the ears” and other sounds are probably generated by abnormal activity in the brain regions that are responsible for perceiving auditory sound.
What role does the brain play in tinnitus? It is now thought that because of hearing loss, the brain’s auditory system does not receive the sensory input it expects, so the brain compensates by activating brain cells (neurons) to create a perception of sound.
Another reason: Tinnitus is also commonly linked to long-term exposure to very loud noises, which may alter brain function in a way that leads to the unwanted sounds that characterize the condition.
Good news: Fortunately, a number of recent therapies now offer new hope to tinnitus sufferers.
WHAT WILL WORK BEST FOR YOU?
What works for one tinnitus sufferer won’t help everyone with the disorder. Simple steps you can try on your own…
Review all medications you’re taking. More than 200 medications can cause temporary tinnitus in some people — even aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Motrin).
Prescription drugs that have been linked to tinnitus include diuretics (water pills) and certain antibiotics and cancer medications. If medication is the culprit, stopping or changing the drug usually eliminates symptoms.
Important: If you believe a prescription drug may be causing tinnitus, consult your doctor before decreasing the dose or discontinuing it.
Eliminate caffeine. Caffeine in all forms (including coffee, many teas, some sodas and chocolate) makes tinnitus significantly worse for many people.
Try vitamin B-12. Although the research is mixed, some people have found relief by increasing their intake of certain minerals (such as magnesium or zinc) or B vitamins (especially vitamin B-12) according to the American Tinnitus Association.
If you would like to try this approach, talk to your doctor for advice on the supplement (and dosage) that would be best for you.
Get checked for earwax. Ask your doctor to check your ears for earwax — wax buildup commonly causes tinnitus.
Override the sounds. Besides masking the sounds, this can also reduce the brain activity believed to trigger tinnitus. For example…
Background noise, such as music, a humidifier, a fan or a white-noise device, can be especially helpful at night if your tinnitus makes it hard to fall asleep.
A hearing aid or cochlear implant (an implanted electrode and external electronic receiver for people with too much hearing loss to benefit from a hearing aid) may help reduce tinnitus symptoms in people with significant hearing loss.
NEWEST TREATMENTS
If the strategies described above don’t relieve your tinnitus symptoms within three to six months… or if your tinnitus is in only one ear (possibly indicating an underlying condition such as a benign tumor) or symptoms are bothersome enough to interfere with daily activities and/or sleep, consult your primary care doctor or an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat specialist) for an evaluation.
The physician may refer you to an audiologist (a health-care professional who specializes in hearing loss, tinnitus and balance disorders) for advice.
If you would like to try one of the breakthrough therapies described below, consider consulting an otolaryngologist or audiologist at a tinnitus treatment program at a university-based medical center (these therapies are typically not covered by health insurance)…
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT). Counseling and sound therapy (whereby patients hear steady, low-level background sound, often from in-ear sound generators) help make people unaware of tinnitus.
This therapy is currently being studied in a large clinical trial. Several smaller studies have reported success rates of about 80%. To find an audiologist trained in TRT, contact the American Tinnitus Association (800-634-8978).
Music therapy. Music is used in at least two tinnitus treatments…
Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment involves the use of an FDA-approved prescription device that plays music (through earphones) embedded with sound that is customized to the person’s tinnitus sound frequency.
The device can be worn during most activities and is designed to help “retrain” the brain so it filters out the disturbing sounds associated with tinnitus.
There is no independent research on this treatment, but a study conducted by the device manufacturer found that 91% of tinnitus sufferers experienced an improvement of at least 40% in symptoms after six months. To find a provider, contact Neuromonics, Inc. (866-606-3876, http://www.Neuromonics.com).
“Notched” music therapy uses a form of tailor-made music modified to remove the sound frequency of the individual’s tinnitus.
This targets the part of the brain associated with tinnitus. In a recent German study, notched music was found to reduce tinnitus symptoms after 12 months.
Acupuncture. In a Brazilian study conducted on 76 tinnitus patients, acupuncture was found to provide immediate reduction in tinnitus symptoms, but the research is mixed on the long-term efficacy of this therapy.
Hypnosis. Among 49 tinnitus patients who were introduced to hypnosis and taught basic methods of self-hypnosis, 35 completed the therapy and experienced relief from tinnitus symptoms after five to 10 sessions, according to research conducted at the University of Liège in Belgium.
Biofeedback. Some patients have benefited from this therapy, in which monitoring devices are used to give immediate feedback on involuntary bodily responses, such as breathing.
This helps patients have some control over negative physical reactions that often accompany tinnitus, such as increased heart rate.
Medication. The drugs below, which are now being evaluated to reduce tinnitus symptoms, are designed to treat other conditions but can be prescribed by doctors “off label” for tinnitus treatment.
Acamprosate (Campral) is used to treat alcohol addiction but has been shown to help some tinnitus patients.
Tricyclic and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants may help relieve severe tinnitus, with possible side effects including dry mouth and constipation.
Alprazolam (Xanax) is an anti-anxiety medication that appears to improve symptoms temporarily in some patients but hasn’t been shown to offer long-term benefits. Possible side effects include nausea and drowsiness.
ON THE HORIZON
Another potentially promising treatment is transcranial magnetic stimulation, in which a weak electric current is sent through the brain.
A small magnetic coil is placed on the scalp — in this case, near the brain’s auditory cortex. Current from the coil stimulates neurons in the targeted area. Studies have shown significant reduction in some patients’ tinnitus symptoms, and this therapy is now regularly used in Europe.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation was recently approved by the FDA as a treatment for depression. At this point, it’s available to tinnitus sufferers only through clinical trials. To learn more, consult the National Institutes of Health Web site, http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov.
Health interviewed Debara Tucci, MD, a professor of surgery in the division of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and a specialist in ear-related problems.
Dr. Tucci is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Association for Research in Otolaryngology.
March 16th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Hello Michelle:
I am Michael, Nora’s father. She is the eldest of five. Girl, boy, girl, boy, girl.
Nora and Michael-Jr. are a year apart. two years later Michelle, a year later Dwight, two years later Helena. I am 16 years older that my eldest, Nora. Her mother is 5 years my senior.
We have been happily married for 31 years. Helena was my baby sitter from the time I was 7 until we eloped when I turned 15.
Helena is an often published, much in demand speaker on all things psychic. She specializes in the paranormal. She has advised everyone from Presidents to investigators in many countries looking for maniacs that prey on other human beings.
I am a retired software geek. My childhood friends and I recently sold our system for managing a particular kind of data to Google for an unbelievable amount of money. None of us have college degrees, but we are just short of being billionaires.
My eldest Nora is the geek. She inherited my aptitude for computer science. The baby Helena inherited her mother’s ESP skills.
All my children are doctors except Nora who runs a spin off computer company that she is gearing up to sell for $billions, she says. That’s if she doesn’t run off to become a Girlz first.
I am very proud of my family. They all have learned to give back to their planet.
All I can say about this blog is WOW! This is the craziest blog on the net bar none. I can not believe that people actually believe this stuff.
I am setting up a program to organize and chronicle the characters and input. Perhaps we can get together when Nora and I come to San Francisco.
I always travel with one of my children. That has been Helena’s orders since the first child was born a year after we eloped. She made me the baby sitter while she attended school. Taking time out only to have a new set of two. She new exactly when each was to be born to include their sex except for Helena. She was a surprise.
I don’t want to monopolize your blog on my first post. But I’m a fanatic about getting the basics out of the way.
Thanks for welcoming me.
Michael
March 16th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Welcome back Anonz.
March 16th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Anonz:
I agree with everything you said. It is the people who have to take responsibility for their actions. Especially those who sit at home and wait for others to get out and vote for them.
They pretend to be above it all. When will they learn that a non vote is just as powerful as a vote. The vote the good guy doesn’t get goes in the count to the bad guy.
So we get republicans voted in on the backs of their sick racists, greedy constituents while the inane complainers sit at home complaining about their plights.
I am one of the little guys being affected by this idiocy. But I do not blame you, Anonz, because you are in a position to take advantage of the state the greedy have placed this world in.
As you point out so often, we can take it back anytime we set out minds to it. But we don’t because of apathy, laziness, racism, religious fanaticism, and/or greed.
We have only ourselves to blame. Anything else is hypocrisy.
Cynthia
March 16th, 2011 at 11:38 am
VICTORIA, Texas — The nuclear disaster in Japan is raising awareness and casting a light on a proposal to build a nuclear power plant a hundred miles from Houston.
Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power producer, is trying to get an early site permit for a proposed nuclear power plant south of Victoria. The city’s economic development corporation sought out the Chicago-based electric company. It could bring millions of dollars for the local economy. A hearing for the early site permit is scheduled for Wednesday.
While some longtime residents expressed concern, others had no complaints.
“It will bring jobs in and stuff. Some people are worried about disasters, but I think it will be good,” said Martin Gutierrez.
The company has up to 20 years to decide whether to build a plant, and that requires another set of permits.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a hearing on the proposal Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Performing Arts Building located at 214 North Main Street in Victoria. The public is invited to attend.
March 16th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Tall Texan:
Notice the greed: It starts at the top with those who will make money off building the disaster waiting to happen and moves down to the little guy who says it’ll bring jobs.
Then why should the rest of us ring our emotions dry when their butts are smoking from the nuclear fallout should it occur.
Our concern though is that with nuclear mistakes the harm is not confined to the idiots who use it. So it is absolutely necessary to get involved.
If we don’t do all we can do to prevent the fools from using nuclear power to provide our energy needs, then we shouldn’t complain when we are exposed to the radiation when their nuclear plant fails.
Beverly
March 16th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
One has to admit Anonz knows what he is speaking of. If you doubt it heres Newt handing out the new sound bites for the party.
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Rising Gas Prices and
Obama’s Failure to Lead
by Newt Gingrich
A disturbing pattern has emerged during Barack Obama’s first term as president.
At the times when our nation most needs presidential leadership, Barack Obama chooses to let others take the lead.
We saw this pattern begin in the early stages of his administration. The country was beginning to slide into a deep recession, and bold action was needed quickly to turn the tide. However, rather than develop an aggressive plan on his own and fight for its passage in Congress, the new president opted instead to allow Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to design the plan. The result was the $787 billion stimulus boondoggle.
Then same thing happened with the president’s health care plan. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were given power to design the plan, resulting in the president placing himself in the odd position where he had to defend the individual mandate despite the fact he campaigned against it in the 2008 Democratic primary.
During the Gulf oil spill, the president took too long to respond and then, according to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, awkwardly decided to focus his energy on making sure that food stamps were still being adequately distributed, rather than using his status as Chief Executive to clear bureaucratic roadblocks to effectively responding to the disaster.
And as discussed in this newsletter two weeks ago, after promising in his State of the Union address to take the lead on returning to a balanced budget, the president submitted a budget that utterly fails to cut spending in any significant way, leaving it up to Congress to do what needs to be done.
Why is Nancy Pelosi So Darn Rich?
Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) owns a luxury hotel… car rental company… a
football team. And that’s just a fraction of her $58.4M fortune.
How’d she build this incredible nest egg? With this little-known income
“program”… that any American can tap to earn $917 to $1,834 each
month.
This pattern of abdicating leadership (which the Associated Press hilariously describes as being “above the fray”) is not limited to domestic politics.
In the past few days, we have seen the consequences of President Obama’s willingness to let other countries take the lead in responding to global events. As the Gadhafi dictatorship in Libya massacres its own people from above, the president has opted to let France try and lead the world in imposing a no-fly zone.
As Michael Barone points out in this column from Sunday, the president’s tepid half measures in response to the situation in Libya may have resulted in a worst-of-both-worlds situation. Gadhafi may have determined his best option to escape justice is to respond violently to the uprising in his country. Now, his forces are regaining ground daily while the world dithers.
The President of the United States, and by extension, America, used to be known as the leader of the free world. Does President Obama believe that title should still apply?
Is President Obama acting as Commander in Chief? Or Observer in Chief?
Relying On Other Countries to Solve Domestic Challenges
As disturbing as it has been to watch this president rely on other world leaders to take the lead in responding to global events, it is even worse to watch him rely on other countries to fix America’s problems.
During the president’s press conference Friday on rising energy costs, he sought to assure the American people that gas prices would not rise too much because other oil producing countries have “committed to filling any gaps” in supply.
This isn’t the first time the administration has said this. In February, the Deputy Secretary of Energy said he hoped “spare capacity” in other countries “will be brought to bear so that it will continue to support our economic recovery.”
Since President Obama took office, gas prices have increased over 90 percent.
After presiding over this enormous rise in prices that are putting a greater and greater strain on family budgets, imagine the naiveté of hoping OPEC and other hostile and unstable countries will “continue to support our economic recovery.”
Top 3 Energy Myths in Obama’s Press Conference
The fact is that since taking office, the Obama administration has conducted a war on American energy that has killed jobs and increased gas prices.
The House Natural Resources Committee has a useful list of all the hostile actions the adminstration has taken, including trying to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant through the EPA and the drilling moratorium and roadblocks in the Gulf.
Thanks to the moratorium and the lack of permits once the moratorium was lifted, seven of the thirty deepwater oil rigs that were in the Gulf of Mexico have moved or are moving to other markets.
Even former Democratic President Clinton has slammed the Obama administration’s “ridiculous delays” for offshore energy production.
Nevertheless, President Obama tried to create a smokescreen at his press conference on Friday to obscure the facts about his war on American energy.
He reiterated three commonly repeated myths that anti-energy radicals use to block domestic oil production.
Steve Everley at American Solutions does a great job dissecting these myths here. In short, they are:
The US has only 2% of the world’s oil. This number only includes proven reserves where we are already drilling. It does not include where U.S. law currently forbids drilling, such as the 10 billion barrels in ANWR, 86 billion barrels in the Outer Continental Shelf, and 800 billion barrels of oil shale in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.
The oil industry has millions of leases where they aren’t producing a thing so we should impose fees on unused land. These leases are for drilling and exploration. Common sense tells us that oil is not distributed evenly across the globe. You need to first look for the oil before you can drill, and much of the leased land will never produce oil. Furthermore, much of the delay in the exploration and drilling process is imposed by government regulations. So the idea of government imposing fees on companies for failing to produce oil when it is government rules themselves that are partly responsible for the delay is outrageous.
Last year oil production reached its highest level in 7 years. This increased production is not due to the actions of the Obama administration, but in spite of it. Most of this new production is occurring on private land in the Dakotas, and the rest is due to the actions of previous administrations. In fact, the Energy Information Administration predicts a decline in domestic oil production during 2011 of 220,000 barrels a day and a drop-off of 150 million barrels in the Gulf of Mexico during 2012. All because of the president’s policies.
Return of Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less
During the summer of 2008, when gas prices were over $4 per gallon, American Solutions launched the Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less campaign.
Over 1.5 million Americans signed our petition to lift the drilling ban on domestic energy, which resulted in the lifting of the offshore drilling ban, an action by a Democratic Congress that just months earlier was thought impossible.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration’s war against American energy has blocked America’s energy companies from taking advantage of the lifting of this ban thanks to a campaign of stalling and bureaucratic obstruction. In fact, in December of last year, President Obama actually re-imposed the same sort of drilling ban that contributed to skyrocketing gasoline prices in 2008.
As we see gas prices inching higher again, we think it is time for the return of Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less to fight the Obama administration’s war against American energy.
That’s why we’re re-launching Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less with a brand new website.
Please visit americansolutions.com/drill, sign the petition, and tell your friends, family, and co-workers about our effort.
The new website also has a number of tools to help our nation to drill here and drill now. You will be able to use the website to get key facts and information about the importance of domestic drilling, contact your Congressman and Senators, write a letter to your local paper, and get a “Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.” bumper sticker for your car.
Your support will help us put the pressure on Congress and the Obama Administration so that we can open up more domestic drilling. This will result in lower gas prices and less reliance on foreign dictators. You can join us by signing the petition at AmericanSolutions.com/drill
Your Friend,
Newt
P.S. Callista and I were honored to receive two Telly Awards for our documentary Nine Days that Changed the World about Pope John Paul II, winning a Silver Award (the Telly’s highest honor) in the category of Religion and Spirituality, and a Bronze Award in the category of History and Biography. You can read more about it here.
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One can see here that blaming of Obama for specific cost rises has begun.
Stevie
March 16th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Anonz or ‘Notes from Anonz’ – illuminating is a good word for your write. Hope you’re feeling better and better everyday, Zen Lill
March 16th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Dahna if you have found your way here call please after 7 PST. Usual communication isn’t connecting. I have a thought about yesterdays conversation with you I want to expound on.
March 16th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
There is nothing like desire for preventing the things one says from bearing any resemblance to what one has in one’s mind. -Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922)
October 30th, 2011 at 9:28 am
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