Re: Nuclear Technology goes Billiard Style
Posted by Mike Kremer on Feb 04, 2002 at 22:23
spider-loh-ta053.proxy.aol.com (195.93.32.173)Re: Nuclear Technology goes Billiard Style (Amaranth Rose)
Well I am surprised that the South Africans talk in such 'glowing' terms' of building 40-50 small Pebble Nuclear Reactors. Especially since this type of reactor was so besotted with problems for Germany, that they dismantled theirs.
Here we read that the South Africans having redesigned the existing technology....feel they
have solved any previous problems, on paper - that is....since they have not built one yet.
I am not an advocate of nuclear energy, due to the horrenous waste disposal safety requirements.I was intrigued by the reactors diagram (shown on page 2) of Amaranth's find. Not only does it state that the Silicon Carbide metal balls can break...whence they are removed and replaced with new. I personally feel sure thet moving metal balls will definately wear away the cooling and heating pipes, to eventually cause a shutdown, disaster, or worse. Since that waste remains radio active for 100,000years, lets hope they dont send it to the USA or England for reprocessing or burial, (everybody else does)
Hopefully they will have the good sense to chuck all radio active waste down their two mile deep diamond mine in the Rand. When it should'nt do any more harm than turn the diamonds there, a nice blue color.