Re: Jan. 4 article, “Germany rejects EU plan to use nuclear energy”
Germany’s rejection of nuclear energy is a mistake. A German government representative said, “We consider nuclear technology to be dangerous,” but in terms of actual death rates from accidents and air pollution, nuclear energy is far safer than Germany’s chosen alternative, natural gas — and that’s not counting the harm to the climate when that gas leaks or is burned.
Germany’s spokesman also noted that the question of what to do with radioactive waste remains unresolved, but there’s a promising solution using oil-field technology developed in Texas (how’s that for delicious irony?). The startup firm Deep Isolation is demonstrating the use of directional drilling techniques to isolate spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in boreholes located deep underground in suitable rock formations.
So the European Union gets it right, and Germany should follow the example of France in modernizing its existing reactors and building new ones.
Hamilton Richards
January 7, 2022
Voices of Austin @CCLATX 