Claims on small modular reactors fail to withstand scrutiny

[Oscar]

Claims on small modular reactors fail to withstand scrutiny

[ https://thestarphoenix.com/opinion/columnists/opinion ]

A Saskatchewan family doctor disputes many of the claims made about small modular nuclear reactors as a future source of energy.

Published Jun 02, 2023 - Dr. Dale Dewar

CAPTION: A picture taken with an thermal imaging camera shows one container loaded with nuclear waste at an embarking station in Dannenberg near Germany's interim nuclear waste deposit south of Hamburg, Germany in November of 2011. PHOTO BY WOLFGANG RATTAY /REUTERS

Yesterday I reread a document into which I’d tried to cram seven decades of nuclear history.

What I had written sounded like the ravings of a madman when placed next to the calm drumbeat of nuclear industry salespeople — no wonder people who are heavily invested intellectually or financially in nuclear power cannot hear dissenters.

The current hype about small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) is that they are safe, carbon neutral, emissions free, have no effect on the environment or human health, have little or no waste and are essential to address the threat of climate change.

Nuclear industry executives claim that these ingenious things can be built and running within the next decade. Don’t hold your breath. No nuclear power plant has ever been built on time or within budget. What of the other claims?

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