The Red
Herring: The "Problem" of Nuclear Waste
The
entire nuclear power industry generates approximately 2,000 tons of solid waste
annually in the United States. All technical and safety issues have been
resolved in creation of a high-level waste repository in the United States;
politics are the only reason we do not have one. In comparison, coal fired power
produces 100,000,000 tons of ash and sludge annually, and this ash is laced with
poisons such as mercury and nitric oxide. Industry generates 36,000,000 tons of
hazardous waste, and the kind they make will be with us forever, not decaying
away. Also, this waste does not receive nearly the care and attention in
disposal that radioactive waste does. This is not to say that radioactive waste
is more dangerous; it is not. We should probably be more careful with other
industrial wastes.
