Nuclear Waste Easier to Manage Than Other Energy Byproducts: Expert

This file photo taken on April 11, 1979, shows a view of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The National Archives/AFP via Getty Images

Nuclear produces a tremendous amount of power in return for a little waste, and the technology also makes it extremely safe, according to Aidan Morrison, director of energy research at the think tank, the Centre for Independent Studies.

“If you are really worried about safety and waste, there is no better energy source than nuclear,” Mr. Morrison told an audience on June 26.

“It’s an absolute dream come true to have so much energy—energy to power cities—and have it sitting at the end [as a] solid block.”

He addressed concerns about nuclear accidents, notably the most famous ones at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima.

“Not a single person outside Chernobyl was harmed—outside of the actual power station itself,” he said.

Estimates say around 30 operators at the power station died almost immediately when the explosion occurred.

Another 30 to 40 power plant workers had been hospitalised due to radiation and died in the following months. Some deaths were not related to their exposure to radiation.

The Three Mile Island and Fukushima nuclear disasters also caused no deaths.

Mr. Morrison also highlighted that nuclear explosions, like what happened in Chernobyl, were not possible with the way modern nuclear reactors were built.

“That [Chernobyl] reactor design has never been approved in the West. We’ve never done that,” he said.

“Today, it’s physically impossible for that particular type of explosion, where the explosion came from inside the fuel itself. Nuclear reactors today can’t do that.”

Mr. Morrison also spoke about the quantity and quality of nuclear waste, noting that unlike solar and wind energy, nuclear produces very little waste for the amount of energy it produces.

Further, nuclear waste can be reprocessed to extract even more fuel, as up to 90 percent of its potential energy remains after its first use.

“Every other type of waste is worse. It’s in some sort of liquid or some bulky thing or infused with refined minerals ... But just having such a tiny amount of waste in such a solid block is absolutely the best because you can contain it so well,” Mr. Morrison said.

Nuclear, Renewables Costs

It comes as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton unveils a plan to build seven nuclear power plants across the country if he wins office at the next election.

The Labor government criticised the proposal, arguing that it would take too long to build and would be too expensive, leading to higher power bills.

Similarly, the plan has also been met with strong objection from state Labor leaders, who all brought up the issues of costs.

Meanwhile, the opposition Liberal Party leaders of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia have left the door open for its consideration.

Only South Australia’s Opposition Leader David Speirs has openly backed the concept.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Mr. Dutton’s plan a “fantasy,” outlining the rapid transition to renewable power such as wind, solar, and hydro, and its affect on lowering power bills.

“We’ve seen 330,000 additional rooftops have solar panels on them,” Mr. Albanese said on June 20.

“Because households recognise that it makes sense for households to reduce their energy bills by having renewable energy. And just as it makes sense for an individual household, it makes sense for our national economy as well.”

He cited the CSIRO’s GenCost report, which said nuclear would cost up to eight times more than renewables.

Similarly, the Australian Conservation Foundation criticised the Coalition’s proposal for lacking detail about costs and timelines.

The Foundation was also wary that nuclear would delay the transition away from coal and gas, and raise power bills for households.

However, Mr. Morrison argues that while nuclear has a steep initial cost, once it is well established, it becomes an extremely cheap source of energy.

“Nuclear in many ways is the inverse of renewables. It’s quite hard to get started, requires a huge upfront cost,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Morrison declared that the honeymoon period for renewables was over.

“Once we have an honest conversation about costs of renewables, we realise that we can’t afford to exhaust ourselves just decarbonising electricity,” he said.

Due to the unreliable nature of solar and wind, the electricity grid still requires systems in place to ensure households get electricity while the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.

“It’s really only achieved by shifting costs of one user’s bill onto another’s, or buying or reducing the volume of electricity and hiking up the price of the remaining volume,” Mr. Morrison said.

Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, also speaking at the event, said Australians weren’t against renewables “where they made sense.”

“It’s incredibly important to recognise that the first priority is reliable power. There’s no use having affordable power if it’s not reliable.”