The public meeting RESPEC and its partners in the Deep Borehole Field Test had planned to hold in Philip last month evidently got called for weather. Now they get a double-header: Haakon County Commission meeting in Philip tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1 p.m., then rescheduled public meeting on the engineering project from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Philip American Legion. There’s another public meeting next week Thursday, February 16, in Midland at Trinity Lutheran Church. Both public meetings include supper.
This flyer for the Midland meeting sent to me by an interested reader shows a couple of details about the site—15 acres, about six city blocks, with a drill rig mast 150 feet high. It also breaks out the estimated local economic impact of over $5 million
- Jobs: $950,000
- Fuel: $900,000
- Room and Board: $1,250,000
- Site Construction: $500,000
- Trailer Rentals: $170,000
- Disposal of dirt, rock, and drill mud hauled up from the Borehole: $225,000
- Local Services: $350,000
- Trucking: $200,000
- Site Reclamation: $150,000
- Local Infrastructure Investment: $700,000
- Local Education Outreach Investment: $200,000
Hmm… RESPEC and the U.S. Department of Energy are going to spring for paving some roads or putting up new power lines under “Infrastructure”? Well, that would be nice. But let’s be cautious about calculating “education outreach” as economic impact: bringing the kids out for field trips to see if they can see three miles down has value, but it probably won’t be measured in a dollar figure.
Neither the supper nor the Borehole project will involve any nuclear waste. Citizens United for a Non-Nuclear South Dakota remain suspicious.
The South Dakota House may be waiting for input from these public meetings; for the third meeting in a row, the House deferred action on House Bill 1071, Rep. Lana Greenfield’s proposal to require Legislative approval of any high-level nuclear waste dump in South Dakota.
Teacher workshops for K-12 nuclear science would also count under educational outreach.
Was there any mention of what the supper, which is provided which must mean free, consists of?
It is not the case that nuclear waste is coming here automatically as a result of this non-nuclear testing. The state would likely have to compete with locales in New Mexico, Texas, other areas nearby the current storage locations (to reduce transportation issues), and other areas with more favorable geology.
Nobody knows if this disposal method will ever be implemented at the end of the day either. If a Yucca Mountain kind of approach would be better and cheaper for both defense and commercial wastes, then that would be favored instead.
Proponents and opponents should want to remove the strontium and cesium in the defense wastes from the biosphere altogether, and put them out of reach from use in any dirty bomb…ever.
If a borehole facility were operating elsewhere and people could visit it and take all the readings they want, I have a difficult time believing the same level of opposition would be occurring. But there is no such place, and people have questions. That’s why the research is necessary.
The good news is that IM22 has soured a lot of folks thinking there in District 27. They are not happy with being called ignorant and are more than suspicious about this great deal Daugaard and company are now presenting. These good folks are ranchers and know the smell and look of bulls#it. They actually can read there and understand that this is not a hole in the ground, this is a dump site.
https://twitter.com/DrillDeeperSD
There is a twitter feed as well.
No waste at this site, ever, because they will be filling up the boreholes when they are done.
Once the money is gone from the grant, good luck getting the drillers to drill new holes for free when this effort will take millions of dollars.
Twitter feed, too funny man. We all know how the big twit with the twitter now works that game. Twitter feed is hacked nonsense and no longer reliable.
Jerry,
More radioactivity is likely being distributed across the state via phosphate-based fertilizer, the burning of coal, and the production of Carbon-14 and Tritium in the upper atmosphere than would be isolated inside the boreholes. Nobody is concerned about or is impacted by those sources of radiation.
Any waste in a real borehole disposal facility would be miles from the surface, shielded by rock. Any direct doses would be far tinier than what already exists in our environment.
The issue is whether they can drill and design containment for the borehole that can isolate the wastes from all paths to the biosphere for 300 years. After 10 half-lives there is basically nothing to worry about.
Hey wait a minute…Cory has a twitter account too! So, what are you saying about that twitter feed?
The well is poisoned, they know it is a lie. No matter how your wrap this crap sandwich, it is not prime rib. The folks know you are trying to hoodwink them with a couple of pieces of silver.
I guess I am saying twitter sucks. Nothing more and nothing less. Hey wait a minute…doc has a twitter account as well. I declare, ain’t that nothing?
Interesting. All this is federal money being used to advertise how much federal money is going to be used to buy off folks. Corruption or science, Dr. McTaggart? Finally we’ve gotten down to what the federal government actually means by “consent.” It means: how much will it cost us for you to prostitute yourselves?
So you will agree to isolate these wastes for free because it is the right thing to do?
Donald,
Wouldn’t you agree that isolating (and/or recycling) the nuclear wastes that we have already generated is the right thing to do?
And that this research could be beneficial in the quest to improve such techniques?
Daugaard and the lies of the borehole are just more of the same that North Dakota heard, Spink County heard and now, something new, a supper in a church! Daugaard is going all out after calling District 27 a bunch of morons that cannot read the IM22, he now wants them to actually be dumb enough to allow this.
Reminds me of what Scott Pelley just said on CBS News: “President Trump told a U.S. military audience that there have been terrorist attacks that no one knows about because the media chooses not to report them. It has been a busy day for presidential statements divorced from reality.”
Daugaard wants District 27 to be divorced from reality as well, the reality of a waste deposit in their backyard.
Breaking bread with your fellow man, whom you may disagree with, has no place in a church? Really?
Nuclear science is still science, Jerry. Fear of science must not win the day.
Science must live with uncertainties because they are inherent due to the nature of measurement. But we can reduce those uncertainties with more data….which means research.
I think there is some kind of thingy about money changers in The House as I seem to remember. Science already has a hole to study, they did and you can as well. It exists much deeper than this one and the good new is, you can access it!
Breaking bread, I have no problem with. I just point out that this is what your federal tax dollars are buying. This isn’t coming from the goodness of RESPEC’s heart. The Department of Energy funneled a few million dollars to RESPEC, who paid some East Coast p.r. firm to put on this shindig. Maybe they can get some second-rate country crooner for entertainment.
And the flyer? What’s that about? It’s not about science. Dangling money in front of people is the usual way these things are sold. How do you get people to become drug dealers and prostitutes? Money, honey.
Jerry,
That borehole was not designed to hold the capsules that contain the defense wastes. The same geological studies regarding hydrology and the nature of the rock were not done ahead of time. Where is the control in the study to evaluate the impact of the borehole? How do you know any future effects are due to the borehole, or features that existed previously?
Why not put all of our waste into any sequence of underground caves? Oh wait a minute, you mean the environmental characteristics of the site in question need to be thoroughly studied? Well, how about that…not all sites are the same.
But if opponents agree that the waste needs to be isolated, particularly to help their brethren out that live next to de facto temporary storage sites (a.k.a. shut down nuclear plants), why aren’t they leading the charge to take care of it for free? Wait a minute, you mean those engineers and technicians that build the above-ground or underground infrastructure will not work for free? Imagine that.
I am shocked that the modern world still requires politics to do things and money to pay for it. As with increasing teacher salaries or building roads, if it is worth doing, it is worth paying for. Do you think in South Dakota of all places, that if a project promises no economic development, that it is ever going to happen?
Taking care of our wastes is a critical part of our infrastructure. Clean the environment, improve the economy, generate high-paying jobs for our citizens.
And the thing with federal tax dollars is….sometimes it pays for what you want to occur, and sometimes it pays for something that other people want to occur.
Federal dollars are there to tackle the big problems that individuals, cities, counties, or states cannot do on their own. The end result of using federal tax dollars should be that the nation is a better place.
Thus federal dollars spent on solving our nuclear waste issues are well-spent.
Cattle prices are in the tank, so now comes the money changers in the church to offer up a solution to the ranchers woes. Yes, we will inject the ground with the necessary poisons to drill the borehole that will contaminate the ground water for all who use. This will only cost you your health, dear people of District 27, just your health and those around you. Cancer clusters, not to worry, you will have cash to flout. This poison will be done before the real real real nuke poison is buried by the train load. Daugaard has shown his complete tone deafness to the people with his “executive order” killing the IM22 because of his view of the stupid voters inability to read and comprehend. Now he wants to dangle some bucks in front of them to pull more wool over their eyes. Hey Dennis Daugaard, this is cattle country, not sheep country, go someplace else to pull the wool over the eyes.
Good thing the ranchers and farmers have the expertise and the interest in preventing cattle from polluting our waters. If only we had some scientists and engineers who were just as dedicated, if not more so, to making sure that nuclear wastes could be contained safely…hmmmm.
Maybe…just maybe…ranchers and farmers don’t mind having other industries develop to carry some of the tax burden in the state. Particularly if one can show that it won’t impact them.
But you’d rather not do the science that may produce results that would conflict with your world view. See Jerry, you do have something in common with the creationists ;^).
McTaggart- provides actual arguments as to why we should consider this as a viable option.
Others- Daugaard lies! TWITTER LIES! MONEYMONEYMONEY.
Once again: horseshoe theory in action as NIMBY folks argue like the Trump supporters they hate so much.
But if the same DOE that is interested in waste research would help the ranchers and farmers become more energy independent via biofuels, or stand-alone solar and wind on the ranch or farm, you would have to deal with the Donald (Mr. Pay in this case) about the role of federal dollars.
No sir, those farmers and ranchers are too good to take those federal dollars, even if they would help the environment and save them money….
Those numbers are highly misleading and nearly fraudulent if used to persuade voters. I worked in the oil patch for four years and can tell you from experiences across Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota.
~ Jobs – Paychecks are sent home to mama to pay the family bills. As little money as possible is spent in the field by workers. They even buy their beer in bulk at an out of state COSCO or Sam’s Club.
~ Fuel – Rigs bring their own semi-trailer fuel tank and another tanker brings fuel to fill it. The fuel is bought from a long ways away, probably from a federal permitted supplier in North Dakota or Wyoming.
~ Room and Board – The workers will bring their own trailers and motor homes. Maybe a rental fee to park them somewhere will be paid but most will just park near the rig on the same 15 acres.
~ Trailer rentals will come from another state who the drilling company already does business with.
~ Local Services – Some, maybe but as little as possible is spent locally. Long term contracts from larger previous drilling operations are used.
~ Site Reclamation – Drilling outfits have their own Cat bulldozers. That’s all it takes to build a site and return it to agreeable standards *(unless spelled out in writing this is almost always a haphazard job which leaves polluted earth, nearly forever).
Yes, cattle pollute with their farts. I would argue that if confinement was not allowed, the pollution of the water would be cut drastically. Cattle crap actually puts nutrients back into the ground as grass nutrients. Cattle urine, will actually help put moisture into the ground as it has always done since the beginning of time. With cattle crap, you can filter the water to drink. You and dicta should make the trip to Fukushima, which by the way, had the highest readings ever a couple of days ago, and help those fellers there take care of the safe nuke stuff. Yes, you two would be welcome there to witness the incredible failure of advanced nuke thinking.
Good to see that you both agree the place will be used as a dump. Now, for a few pieces of silver being offered, District 27 can have that glowing sense of belonging, if they are silly enough to believe in fairy tales.
Hasn’t South Dakota done a lot of business in temporary housing with the oil and gas drilling up in North Dakota? Aren’t there key players in Rapid City in this research?
But I agree with you, where the money goes and how federal dollars are spent are important questions to ask. Providing evidence of some form of local/state economic impact would help their case.
I disagree with Donald that simply because there is money involved that the whole thing should be shut down. Let’s face it, he wants it shut down regardless…even if the science shows that the disposal method could isolate these wastes safely.
I always note how safe nuke stuff is when I go to the dentist or the doctor. They put a lead jacket on me and then they get the hell out of the room to take that picture. Yep, safe stuff. There already exists a borehole, much deeper than the one proposed. That borehole has much data available. Why spend taxpayer money to dig another one when one already exists? Because, the one that already exists is not used to store nuke waste, big difference.
Jerry, you seem to agree that if the science shows that the wastes could be contained safely, that would conflict with your anti-nuclear world view.
Here’s a hint about nuclear safety….don’t go into the core of a plant at Fukushima for a while. Other than that, you will be fine.
Any new plants that we build for nuclear will be different from here on out. They have to have all the new safety features, probably load-follow to compete with natural gas, and be cheaper to build (or at least be right-sized to the demand). Fukushima-like reactors are too expensive any more to build.
All of that in the dentist office is following protocols regarding the linear, no-threshold hypothesis. Protect the worker (simply going around the corner is more than enough), protect the patient (don’t irradiate things that are not necessary), and get valuable information about what is going on with your teeth.
With such medical imaging, they can treat you more quickly and prevent future issues from occurring. They reduce the amount of invasive procedures that are necessary to see what is actually going on. Even with the linear, no-threshold hypothesis, a risk-benefit analysis shows that non-invasive medical imaging always generates better health outcomes than delaying medical treatment until issues become large enough for a problem to occur.
Radiation says you are welcome.
Don’t let the numbers I noted above sway you from supporting the hole. It’s a fabulous opportunity for the area and the benefits will far outweigh any negativity. As one with first hand experience, I’ll suggest to whomever is in charge of the vote –
1. Get everything in writing and have two qualified lawyers sign off on it, even if you need to hire them from a state with mineral reserves.
2. Don’t borrow a bunch of money to make upgrades on anything preparing for a boom. Oil field workers expect sub-standard amenities and that’s just what they’ll accept and appreciate.
Likewise, the generation of lots of clean electricity from nuclear power across the globe would do wonders for standards of living, clean air, and clean water via desalination.
What if you needed to power electric cars for 6 billion people, say out of 10 billion on the planet. Could you do that without nuclear energy? Or when they move up out of the third world, would you have them drive cars that run on gasoline supplied by pipelines?
So there are consequences of not allowing the research to be done that would show nuclear waste storage is safe. It inhibits our ability to really fight climate change.
What about Kola? The borehole exists, the studies exist, why not utilize those?
Careful with that “car talk”, Doc. The majority in Pierre hasn’t even taken up the threat of driverless, Jihadi terrorist car bombers. *Al the Corrupt’s mental wheels are starting to turn, already just imagining how to scare the Aberdonians.
That is a good question Jerry. I will take a crack at it here.
If you believe in consent-based processes, then you need to first obtain the consent of another nation to take in the waste that your nation is unwilling to deal with. Good luck with that :^).
In principle, that borehole was designed to get as deep as possible. Not necessarily as deep and straight as possible. So if containers get stuck midway because the engineering wasn’t done, that would cause a problem.
Conditions at those depths, such as salinity, heat, access to water, may not be conducive to resisting corrosion. Wikipedia says “In addition, the rock at that depth had been thoroughly fractured and was saturated with water, which was surprising”.
“Another unexpected discovery was a large quantity of hydrogen gas; the mud that flowed out of the hole was described as “boiling” with hydrogen”….yeah, no threat of a fire due a spark from monitoring equipment in an atmosphere of hydrogen could ever occur.
Temperatures down at 50,000 feet would have been close to 300 Celsius, so any moisture down there would boil, and the steam would produce pressure if trapped. It just got too hot for them to keep drilling, so they stopped around 40,000 feet. The radioactivity would have added more heat.
Porter’s take down on the jobs/economic development touted for this project needs to be heeded. This is not even as big an employer as a local Subway.
Yes, as long as no federal money is going to Donald, let’s forget this thing.
Never mind whether it would be in the public good to do research that could store nuclear waste more safely.
I take Porter’s point that we’ll have to wait for various contracts to develop to see what the true economic impact is. I take Donald’s point that money should not be the only driver for this to occur.
Donald, maybe as part of the consent-based process that you desire, you will provide a full, independent, objective, economic impact analysis and environmental impact analysis for free. Because nobody should pay for that with federal money….
Of course I believe in consent. The Russian consent to the shared use of the Space Station and getting goods to and from the place, so for a couple million rubles, that would take care of the consent. Why don’t you ask them?
Regarding what they already have found from the drill of some 10 miles into the surface of the earth, they seem to have pretty good crib notes on what works and what does not. What say you copy them and save the taxpayers some money.
Now, regarding your actual planed storage, that is something you folks are gonna have to stop lying about. Own it man. Step up and tell the good folks there what they already know, you think their location is a dump and you intend to provide the nuke poison for it.
Sorry Jerry,
The proposed location would be used for testing only. The testing involves no nuclear material. It will be filled with concrete once they are done, so any holes that they drill cannot be used for nuclear waste disposal.
With regard to the data, recall that the geology is different, which means the pressures and stresses underground are different, and the chemistry is different. I’m sure they have already collected what they can from that drilling, and it isn’t enough to satisfy those that provide oversight for deep borehole testing by the DOE. Once again, that drilling had different goals than this test will.
The test hole has been dug doc, your argument is for the research for a test hole. The fact is, a borehole has already been done with scientific results that are available. In fact, you quoted them. If there already exists research on a borehole along with detailed results of how to do that project, why drill another? That is like removing your gall bladder and then putting it back in so you can remove it again. This research has already been done. This is a big lie for storing nuke waste. This is not about research, this is about the storage in District 27 of nuclear waste.
That is like saying we need to do a research report on switchgrass in the Northern Plains, and somebody else did a research report on clover in the Northeast. In your view, the research has been done, so get on with it.
LMAO, Glad I am not in one of your Devos classrooms doc. Switch grass in the northern plains is still switch grass. Clover in the northeast is still clover. A kiss is still a kiss in Aruba. A deep borehole, that is proven to be a borehole is that, a borehole. The borehole in Russia is not a post hole for a corner post, it is a borehole deep deep into the earth. The deepest evah. There are mountains of research that were done on this project. Read them and stop wasting time. Tell the people that your intent is to bury nuke waste in District 27. Why carry on with the lie of research that has been already completed?
“Hey Chuck, I just performance-tested my race car.”
“Well Sam, can I use those exact results to tune my Toyota Camry?”
“Sure, why not? All the data has been taken. We shouldn’t need to take into account any differences between my race car and your Camry. No problem.”
The research has really only begun. Having all the answers ahead of time is not what science is about…these guys have to prove that this method is superior to competing ideas, which means controlled experimentation and engineering design that solves the problems they encounter.
That is my point. As the deep borehole has already been dug with miles and miles of research papers completed for that location, there are no deposits of nuke waste in that particular location. The research is complete and so is the borehole. This new one in District 27 is not about the research as the research is complete with proof of the fact it can be done. The researchers know that the borehole can be done as sure as Kola was completed, so that is a done deal. No, this is about drilling the borehole and depositing waste after it is completed. The answers already exist with details on how the deep borehole was drilled and what they encountered doing so. Go down to the church in Midland and tell them that the deep borehole in Russia does not count as it is a Camry and the DOE was comparing a Ford. Then tell them that the research must be done so they can drill another one right beside it to do the research on how nuke waste will react in a deep borehole. Then tell them that there will be no high grade nuke waste buried there. After that, ask them if they would like to step outside the church to see your Camry and Daugaard’s Ford.
No research needed, Sam can just put in a high performance chip and get that grocery getter up to par so grandma can get the hell out of District 27 if they do something like allowing nuke waste to kill themselves with.
I’m sure somebody has studied Kola and gained something from it. However, the test borehole will use different machinery, different technicians, different protocols, different safety rules and environmental regulations that must be followed, and will encounter a different geology and hydrology.
“Hey Chuck, I found an owner’s manual for a Radio Shack TRS-80.”
“Bring it over here Sam, Jerry says that if I can play tic-tac-toe on the TRS-80, I should be able to download this brand-new on-line computer game to it. After all, a computer game is a computer game.”
Have you tried putting anything down a 3 mile deep hole that has been plugged up with concrete? You can’t.
Then where is all this waste you speak of supposed to go?
You are correct, but that hole beside it would work wonderfully well. Funny how you have changed your tune over the posts history. From the need for research into deep boreholes to yeah, nothing to see there. We need a new one. Why is that? The Russians did not plug that borehole they dug. It exists for those who want to remove the bolts to check out. Head on to Midland and give them your dog and pony show. Tell them you would never ever put another hole in that 15 acre plot site to dump nuke waste in. I am sure they will believe you just like they did in Spink County. Then show them you floppy disk.
Actually, if you have a workable TRS-80, you probably should consider putting it on EBay, worth about $250.00 bucks.
They have to plug up ANY hole that they drill. But how many holes they could drill should be in some contract language somewhere.
As I have said, they may learn that it doesn’t work for the intended purpose, or the alternative is just better. On the other hand, the research may show them how to improve their designs and make any future borehole facility better.
That is what true research is….you can predict what will happen based on past history, but you do not know in advance what the final data will look like.
Mr. jerry, let me try to explain over a hearty breakfast cooked in a restaurant microwave oven.
There won’t be micro-radiations fitting down The Borehole because it will be plugged. No wastes at all, sir.
I think you should tell the good folks from District 27 that they have nothing to fear as no one would ever consider changing the rules. Work on your delivery though, try to bend it like Daugaard. Yep, that’s the ticket. Drift on into telling them how smart you are and how smart they are not and that you are only there to help them. Explain that those other places that rejected the borehole just did not get enough of a bribe to convince them that all will be well.
Unfortunately the distrust of government at all levels has not just occurred where boreholes have been proposed. But if we could finally solve our nuclear waste problems, we would save money in the long run. Then more monies would be available to tackle other problems that people care about, which would lessen that discontent.
I think Jerry is in need of some gravy fries, served up nice and hot.
I submit if they wanted to bury radioactive waste in Haakon County they would just do it in the dead of the night. But this, The Borehole, is a transparent and open experiment, done in the name of science and learning. It saddens me that some people are so afraid that they are turned against science and learning.
It’s a lot like Grudz being afraid of out of state money and ideas.
Doc- ain’t you paying attention to what is in the White House and the people he picks for his cabinet? And your not vewy afwaid?
Touchéy, Mr. Lansing. Touchéy indeed. Out of staters are very much like the radioactive wastes we don’t want here in South Dakota.
Are you going to Midland doc to be a presenter?
Mike,
Perry for DOE does not have a technical background like the past two directors, but at least he has had to deal with some nuclear related issues as governor. I do think he will hire the technical experts and at least tackle temporary storage sites for commercial nuclear wastes.
Nuclear was included in the current draft of the Clean Power Plan by the EPA….barely, but the CPP did not promote any new nuclear or set any hurdles that new nuclear would need to meet to qualify for favored status like solar, wind, and efficiency had. If they do a new clean power plan, it should have nuclear, but will likely include things like clean coal and natural gas, if not hydro and energy storage. If the metrics include less carbon, grid reliability, and lower costs, then new nuclear should be alright.
We’ll have to see what happens with education. Perhaps things will be fine if the public is the consumer and an educated student that can make society better is the product. STEM is not for everybody, but we should be encouraging more students to take the harder science and math courses (which include calculus and physics).
Jerry,
No, I wasn’t planning on going. That meeting is really for the local residents to voice their opinions and ask their questions.
That’s right, Grudzie. But what you don’t realize is that 2/3 of the voters see Rapid City as “out of state”. More things in Rapid are like Denver than more things in Rapid are like ESD. *except for that hideous statue of Ron Reagan. That wouldn’t last over night in CO. lol *goat
4:47 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjIGkVXlKfE
Bush was headed for Iraq War II the day he was elected with rummy and cheney. they were after Iraq’s oil. now from his 1st day in office trump and his brain, Bannon, want to be paid back for destroying Iraq. They want to “take the oil”.
I would not be surprised if they are not meeting with cheney now, just like all the energy companies met with Bush/cheney in secret right after the election. just like the republicans met 1.09.19, the night of Obama’s inauguration to conspire to absolutely obstruct every Obama action.
Conspiracies, government wide, are illegal. felonies.
Doc, you won’t have time to “finally solve our nuclear waste problems, we would save money”. Syria and Iraq and Israel may be where trump sends our young people to die for oil.
Take back two of your goats today, Mr. Lansing. I’ve got plenty, you deserve a couple back, and I’m feeling overly generous what with all the constitutional and unsloppy fixing of The IM #22 that seems to be happening every day.
2009
It is true leslie, that the way things are set up now, it will take some time to apply any solution that we come up with.
I should note that many of those Middle Eastern nations, like Saudi Arabia, have been investing in their nuclear and solar programs. They will sell us their oil instead of consuming it at home.
But it would be a good outcome if we could power the electric cars we need and significantly reduce our dependence on oil for reasons of reducing foreign entanglements.
For Jerry….
“Although the radiation level is “astoundingly high,” says Azby Brown of Safecast, a citizen science organization that monitors radiation levels, it doesn’t necessarily signify any alarming change in radiation levels at Fukushima. It’s simply the first time they have been measured that far inside the reactor.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/08/japanese-nuclear-plant-just-recorded-an-astronomical-radiation-level-should-we-be-worried/
So it’s not all of a sudden that levels are spiking inside the reactors, they just haven’t gotten in there until now. The primary impact of those levels is that decommissioning will be more difficult to do than they thought.
There are lots of lessons here, but probably three come to mind. First, their regulators should always have been on-site with the power to stop things whenever he/she saw a safety issue (could be a cultural issue with authority in Japan). Second, they built too many reactors next to each other because of NIMBY (nowhere else to site them), and they didn’t staff them accordingly (tried to be too efficient). Third, their backup power systems and access to emergency power needed to be better protected (diesel fuel and generators washed away, connection with the grid was cut).
Fukushima doesn’t happen if those three things are taken care of.
I, for one, would like to see the U.S. reprocess spent nuclear fuel, given that only about 10 lbs out of each fuel assembly (talking Westinghouse PWR, 12 ft long, 17 x 17 grid) is converted to fission products. Reprocess, reconstitute and vitrify the remaining high level waste.
The fuel that is in spent fuel pools and dry cask storage at each power plant site, if reprocessed, could fuel existing and new reactors coming online into the future.
Strictly based upon my experience as a Nuclear Power Plant Operator (25 yrs).