Following the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, the US more or less gave up on building new nuclear power plants. I think it's fair to say that no one wanted one in their backyard (NIMBY).
But now, for some reason, the powers that be are pushing the idea that everyone should want a nuke or two in their neighborhood (Please In My BackYard, or PIMBY):
https://studyfinds.org/nuclear-backyard-tiny-reactors-could-power-towns-campuses/
I worked for military, commercial, and government entities in the nuclear field for 25+ years and another 10 years in a state environmental agency, and trust me when I say the concept discussed in the above report is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard. I say this for multiple reasons, including but not limited to the following:
- Substituting an increase in nuclear waste for a decrease in so-called greenhouse gases is NOT a good trade-off - CO2 feeds life, while nuclear waste remains deadly, essentially forever;
- It will be extremely difficult to properly staff and monitor all these mini-nukes, and the possibility of having computers run them has always been anathema in the US (for good reason); and
- Each one would represent a serious security and environmental risk, and considering the growing number of would-be terrorists and nut jobs in our nation, the danger of such risks is only going to increase.
I'm sticking with the conventional wisdom (NIMBY). Had you seen what I have inside this industry, I think you would too.
By the way, all those radioactive shrimp now being removed from your store shelves probably got their Ce-137 from a nuclear power plant somewhere (Fukushima?). They are a warning of possible worse things to come, and I strongly recommend we heed that warning.
