this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2026
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56
An approach to solving the nuclear waste problem: TUD plans experimental recycling reactor “DEMO” in Saxony (tu-dresden.de)
submitted 1 day ago by woelkchen@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 day ago (6 children)

Sigh, it is super easy to deal with nuclear waste, you find stable bedrock, drill a hole into it, put the wast into the hole, backfill with clay.

Done.

There is zero need to build momuments to warn future civilizations, as long as it is deep enough, we can expect their technical development level to be on our own level before they can dig it up.

I am a Swede, we have stable bedrock, a stable political system, we have the skills to build a facility like this, we have a shitload of space for it. We should invest in large storage facilities for nuclear waste, we can make enough to fill the global demand for nuclear waste storage, and we could make a plenty of money doing so.

Also, it can be quite cold in Sweden, we could build the sites with heat exchange pipes surrounding them giving us decades of boosted geothermal power.

If I were a billionaire, I would focus on building nuclear waste sites for the benefit of mankind.

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago

Burying it works great, until the geology shifts or groundwater starts seeping into the hole.

[–] Darkenfolk@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You call that a solution? Drill a deep hole and hope that nothing ever happens?

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yes?

It is the only long term solution we have, it is elegant and simple.

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It is the only long term solution we have

Posted article says otherwise. Clearly you didn't care to read it.

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/experimental

Experimental - Noun "The subject of an experiment"

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Given that there are zero experiences with burying nuclear waste for a million years, your easy solution is very much at best hypothetical.

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip -1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Eh, the maths have shown that burying will work fine.

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world -3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Your maths:

Where are the actual experiences with it? The physics also show that such a reactor is possible. If numbers on paper are good enough for burying, they are good enough for that reactor to actually get rid of the waste.

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip -1 points 1 day ago

Look, we are both trying to solve the waste issue, why are you treating me like an enemy?

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Posted article indicates that even if the experiment performs to expectations, there will still be waste to be disposed of. They hope to convert most of the nasty, longer-lived radionucleides into something useful, but most is not all. Plus, part of their selling point is conversion into medical radionucleide sources, and to be honest, the market there isn't all that big (like, "a single reactor in Canada supplied a high percentage of these sources for many years" not-that-big). It can probably absorb the output of this reactor, but ramp the idea up into a general solution for all nuclear waste everywhere, and we'll likely end up with more medical and industrial radionucleide sources than we know what to do with.

(There's also the question of what kinds of waste could be reprocessed. Only enriched waste from light-water reactors? What about waste from heavy-water reactors, which tends to be bulkier but considerably less radioactive?)

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

most is not all

The less if left, the better. Certainly better than burying everything and hoping for the best.

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 3 points 1 day ago

Well, yes, less is better, but the point is, we're still going to need the holes in the ground. Just not as many or as large.

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Nonsense, you just pay the Italia mafia to dispose of it responsibly

[–] Uranium_Green@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Out of curiosity, does Sweden have any nuclear power facilities?

And do you know if that form of storage requires vitrification of the waste products? (Essentially turning them to glass so they cannot leach out of containment in the event of a breach)

[–] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you want more info about this type of a storage solution, look up Onkalo in Finland.

[–] SorryImLate@piefed.social 2 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

Thanks, that was interesting

Edit: For anyone interested, the technology is called KBS-3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBS-3

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

We have three active nuclear powerplants, Ringhals, Forsmark and Oskarshamn.

We are currently decomissioning the powerplant Barsebäck, the Danes were less than happy about having two reactors close to their coast.

Forsmark is the only powerplant that still runs all their reactors, Oskarshamn only has one of three reactors running, and Ringhals has two active reactors out of four.

[–] howdy@lemmy.ml -1 points 1 day ago

you are absolutely correct

[–] lemmie689@lemmy.sdf.org -3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

[–] woelkchen@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is about actually getting rid of nuclear waste permanently, not about making more.

[–] lemmie689@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 1 day ago

I know. Yet everyday there's more and more. Canada is going to start injecting it down into the Canadian Sheild. Took them 25 years to decide. Its just a scene from an old movie "Holocaust". The greatest experiment of all. Hope this isnt another "Age of Stupid" moment.