Worried about nuclear waste?
Well, you really shouldn’t be. Even with the promise of many more nuclear power plants, the odds are that we will develop new ways to use the nuclear waste. This is all because of the wonders of a capitalistic society.
The gist of it is that since the demand for uranium will increase, the price will increase also. The higher prices of uranium will make it economically feasible to find new ways to process the waste that could be potentially cheaper than obtaining uranium itself. I’m no scientist or chemist but from my understanding of nuclear material, you could potentially derive energy from it until it has decayed into lead. Thats a lot of potential energy stored in nuclear waste.
Don’t think that this will happen? Well I’m sorry to burst your bubble but talks are already beginning about this.
In 2000, uranium was selling for about $7 per pound. By last summer it was at $140 per pound. Prices have dropped back now, to about $73 per pound.
But that still means the uranium that could be recovered from the waste could be worth about $7.6 billion, according to the federal Government Accountability Office.
“Suddenly, this waste nobody wanted has become very valuable,” said Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-1st District, in which the Paducah plant is located.
Where there is a demand, someone will always find ways to supply, for a small price of course.
