David de Caires Watson
1 min readDec 7, 2019

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Thanks for engaging. I answered some of your points already here.

The costs of nuclear power in the UK have included decommissioning (ie paying for waste management) costs for a while now.

Considering no one has ever been hurt by nuclear spent fuel or other wastes, I think we can say we do know how to safely manage it. In fact, nuclear is the only energy industry that takes full responsibility for its waste streams. Fossil fuels spew their waste into the atmosphere or waste ponds. There is no grand plan to recycle solar panels or wind turbines.

As for long term storage of spent fuel, check out Finland’s facility (Radioactive Waste Mangement Ltd in the UK plans to build something very similar).

As for relying solely on solar and wind, what about when it’s not windy or when it’s not sunny (which in winter is about 18 hours a day, everywhere in the country). Renewables have a place for sure, but they must be partnered by nuclear otherwise you’ll be relying on gas.

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David de Caires Watson
David de Caires Watson

Written by David de Caires Watson

Nuclear futurist, chartered physicist, safety engineer, amateur birder and pedal power enthusiast. Writer for The Kernel mag. Founder of Atomic Trends.

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