It is still the case... the Washington Times is a creepy conservative rag, owned by a very creepy conservative religious organization.... but as the article explains, if a gas main explosion sends little hot pebbles all over the place, professionals will be standing by to clean them up..
Feel better now?
Nuclear fission in your basement? SAY! That is a clever idea.
This is what old sub commanders think about when they retire.
QUOTE:
Eskom, a large public utility in South Africa, has taken a serious look at nuclear fission technology and is committed to the pre commercial development of an alternative type of machine called the pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR).....
Of course, the early adopters of such a technology will not be average homeowners. A likely initial customer might be the owner of an isolated tropical island or a remote mountain with a spectacular view. (AN IMPORTANT MARKET I'M SURE, MH) The machines could be designed as black boxes containing a decade or more of fuel and needing only a cooling supply and a place to put the output power. They would not spoil the view with an exhaust stack and could be buried to muffle all noise. (ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN FORGOTTEN AND REDISCOVERED 200 YEARS LATER, THEY MIGHT POISON ALL LOCAL DRINKING WATER... BUT NEVER MIND, NEVER MIND, AT LEAST THOSE ANNOYING SMOKE STACKS WON'T BOTHER THE ISLAND'S OWNER...)
The possibility of home-size cousins of the PBMR coming to a neighborhood might raise concerns. (WHAT ME WORRY?) What if an external explosion, as from a ruptured natural gas main, shattered the tough shield surrounding the PBMR and scattered the pebbles? (HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN, IN OUR MODERN SOCIETY?) In such a scenario, the radioactive material would remain contained within the pebbles. (OH DR. SCIENCE, I'M SO GLAD THE PUBLIC IS SAFE!) Of course, the pebbles would be hot, in terms of both temperature and radioactivity. (WELL... THAT DOES SOUND MILDLY WORRYING.... LITTLE HOT RADIOACTIVE PEBBLES ALL OVER THE NEIGHBORHOOD... SHOULD I WORRY?) Residents would need to be evacuated until professionals collected all the pebbles, but then they could return safely to their homes. (OH GOOD.. FOR A MOMENT I WAS WORRIED, BUT SINCE THERE WOULD BE PROFESSIONAL PEBBLE COLLECTORS INVOLVED, I'M SURE EVERYTHING WILL BE OK!!!)
END QUOTE
And there is not a single mention of nuclear waste, fission by products, or waste disposal issues!
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It is still the case... the Washington Times is a creepy conservative rag, owned by a very creepy conservative religious organization.... but as the article explains, if a gas main explosion sends little hot pebbles all over the place, professionals will be standing by to clean them up.. Feel better now?
Nuclear fission in your basement? SAY! That is a clever idea. This is what old sub commanders think about when they retire. QUOTE: Eskom, a large public utility in South Africa, has taken a serious look at nuclear fission technology and is committed to the pre commercial development of an alternative type of machine called the pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR)..... Of course, the early adopters of such a technology will not be average homeowners. A likely initial customer might be the owner of an isolated tropical island or a remote mountain with a spectacular view. (AN IMPORTANT MARKET I'M SURE, MH) The machines could be designed as black boxes containing a decade or more of fuel and needing only a cooling supply and a place to put the output power. They would not spoil the view with an exhaust stack and could be buried to muffle all noise. (ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN FORGOTTEN AND REDISCOVERED 200 YEARS LATER, THEY MIGHT POISON ALL LOCAL DRINKING WATER ... BUT NEVER MIND, NEVER MIND, AT LEAST THOSE ANNOYING SMOKE STACKS WON'T BOTHER THE ISLAND'S OWNER...)
The possibility of home-size cousins of the PBMR coming to a neighborhood might raise concerns. (WHAT ME WORRY?) What if an external explosion, as from a ruptured natural gas main, shattered the tough shield surrounding the PBMR and scattered the pebbles? (HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN, IN OUR MODERN SOCIETY?) In such a scenario, the radioactive material would remain contained within the pebbles. (OH DR. SCIENCE, I'M SO GLAD THE PUBLIC IS SAFE!) Of course, the pebbles would be hot, in terms of both temperature and radioactivity. (WELL... THAT DOES SOUND MILDLY WORRYING.... LITTLE HOT RADIOACTIVE PEBBLES ALL OVER THE NEIGHBORHOOD... SHOULD I WORRY?) Residents would need to be evacuated until professionals collected all the pebbles, but then they could return safely to their homes. (OH GOOD.. FOR A MOMENT I WAS WORRIED, BUT SINCE THERE WOULD BE PROFESSIONAL PEBBLE COLLECTORS INVOLVED, I'M SURE EVERYTHING WILL BE OK!!!)
END QUOTE
And there is not a single mention of nuclear waste, fission by products, or waste disposal issues!