US regulators have issued a warning to a nuclear project critical to Donald Trump’s efforts to revive the industry, after a contractor fell into a reactor cavity and a bundle of fuel rods nearly tipped over during refueling.

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[–] 56 points 2 days ago (11 children)

Holtec, which has never operated a nuclear power plant, has secured about $2.2 billion in government support

Oh, where the fuck have we heard this shit before? Seems a little higher stakes than a reflecting pool, and yet here we are.

What's especially bad about this is that if done right, nuclear is not a bad option. It's safer than coal or gas. But if done poorly, it will absolutely not only kill us all, but any mistakes get INSTANT news coverage and are made to sound as bad as they possibly can be because hte public is wrongly terrified about nuclear. (Some fear is justified - keep me away from high voltage stuff, and nuclear stuff. But people are trained to do those jobs. Well, not in this corrupt instance, but in general)

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  • [–] 25 points 1 day ago (10 children)

    This is why people don't like nuclear. Not because it's safe when handled properly, but because humans do fuck things up, and corruption, and... I mean look at this!

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  • [–] 18 points 1 day ago (7 children)

    Good thing nobody screws up oil and spills it into the environment…

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  • [–] 15 points 1 day ago (5 children)

    I can not like two things at the same time.

    Besides that, my energy comes from hydro and solar.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Solar is pretty good, hydro has serious ecological ramifications though. We really need to un-dam a bunch of rivers and restore salmon habitat.

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  • That sadly is true, especially because I'm from a region that was dependent on salmon. They are trying to re establish them, though, and they made some progress. The water quality went up in the last decades and more and more possibilities for them to "climb" have been established. There have been several adult salmons in the last few years, but it's not like the population grew back. We do have a growing beaver population though, which is another success. So yes, hydro has its downsides, but it's not like you could build a nuclear power plant into a natural river delta either.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    I can not like two things at the same time.

    Lies! Nobody can live at that speed!

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  • [–] 7 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Right, this is what drives me up a fucking wall about the horseshoe types. I hear people talking about how I should think it’s a good thing that turnip opened up nuclear energy again. But his incompetence and grift will ensure it lives up to all the worst public fears about it. It’s going to set back nuclear progress immeasurably.

    Probably the point of this kakistoctacy though, keep the oil prices up…

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  • [–] 1 point 11 hours ago

    Why do you think he went to war with Iran? US oil companies sure aren't complaining right now. THey need over 62$ a barrel to break even. Before the war it was like 70$ish a barrel. Barely making a profit. As for nuclear progress the US won't be a leader in that going forward. It hasn't even moved past uranium steam reactors. China is out here building Thorium Molten Salt reactors. They even have plans to put one in a cargo ship. Combined with their solar and wind production they're the only hope humanity has to stop climate change.

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