What exactly is the danger though? I'm imagining that another Chernobyl-level reactor breach is unlikely (not least since the other 3 reactors at Chernobyl of the same type kept running until 2000, and several more reactors of the same type are still operating today in various post Soviet countries). And while reactivity release is unfortunate, the effects tend to be localized (excepting Chernobyl), and let's not pretend that other modalities have 0 environment impact or risk factors.
If fact more people die from falling off wind turbines during maintenance than have died from nuclear accidents on a per-TWh basis [1].
And there were greater health effects in Fukushima due to panic and unnecessary evacuation than from radiation [2].
Again I agree radioactivity = bad, but I think it needs to be put in context.
And as for the disposal of nuclear waste, yes it's a problem for thousands of years, but we don't need a thousand year solution, it's not like we're leaving the planet. One possible outcome there is that eventually we develop cheap enough neutron sources that we can bombard the waste with neutrons until the various atoms capture enough neutrons to become stable isotopes. Considering the technological progress over the last 300 years, maybe in another 300 such a feat will be economically feasible.
If fact more people die from falling off wind turbines during maintenance than have died from nuclear accidents on a per-TWh basis [1].
And there were greater health effects in Fukushima due to panic and unnecessary evacuation than from radiation [2].
Again I agree radioactivity = bad, but I think it needs to be put in context.
And as for the disposal of nuclear waste, yes it's a problem for thousands of years, but we don't need a thousand year solution, it's not like we're leaving the planet. One possible outcome there is that eventually we develop cheap enough neutron sources that we can bombard the waste with neutrons until the various atoms capture enough neutrons to become stable isotopes. Considering the technological progress over the last 300 years, maybe in another 300 such a feat will be economically feasible.
[1] https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy
[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8208296/