Atomic Waste

People are getting killed in coal mines that primarily support power plants, water sources once again are getting trashed by the outflow from diesel-fired power plants, and rapidly aging hydroelectric plants are doing what old machinery does best -- operating less efficiently every year. Since it is not likely that government will restore any reasonable level of control over the energy industry, why is it we ignore atomic power?

The sticking point to the idea seems to be fear. If the government, or any international agency, talks about research with the words "atomic" or "radioactive" attached, a significant percentage of the population gets extremely upset. Like all fears, much of the basis is ignorance. There are examples all ove the world of safe, effective, inexpensive nuclear power plants. Given the damage that "conventional" plants wreak every year, the comparative dangers aren't that bad.

Nuclear power plants need to be adequately monitored by independent agencies, people working in the plants need to be adequately trained and supervised, and the equipment needs to be maintained. The handful of disasters all point to those three necessities. None of them seem to be beyond reason. None are beyond the capability of anyone. For that matter, "convntional" power plants could benefit from the same thing.

So we come to the fear of (drum roll, crescendo on the Mighty Wurlitzer) ATOMIC WASTE. People keep talking about the danger of this terrible waste product as if there is no possible answer to the threat it poses to untold generations.

Why is it we periodically forget the lessons of the past? The difference between a waste product and a resource is research.

What can you do with radioactive materiel besides bury it or make bombs with it? I wouldn't pretend to have the answer, but getting it is not all that difficult. When the Industrial Revolution was churning out tons of poisonous coal tar, the German government offered cash prizes and exclusive licenses to anyody who could come up with uses for the stuff.

Did it work? Spectacularly. The poster child for the process was Dr. Bayer, who developed a substitute for Spirilla tea as a headache remedy. Other discoveries included a substitute for kerosene and a whole raft of cosmetic products. Most of the major chemical companies of Europe can trace their fortunes to the coal tar prizes.

Perhaps we can defeat fear by invoking greed. Make it attractive to do independent, applied research. Fund results. With current technology, vast amount of cash are not as necessary for basic research as in the past. Frankly, offering a fast-tracked international exclusive license for any product or processed judged practical would just about do the trick.