Why Don't We Send Nuclear Waste To The Sun?

Could we just send all our nuclear waste to the sun? It would sure solve a lot of problems! Trace looks at whether or not this crazy plan has any possibility of happening.

Read More:

What are nuclear wastes and how are they managed?
"The most significant high-level waste from a nuclear reactor is the used nuclear fuel left after it has spent three years in the reactor generating heat for electricity. "

Radioactive waste: Where to put it?
"As the U.S. makes new plans for disposing of spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste deep underground, geologists are key to identifying safe burial sites and techniques."

FYI: Why Not Just Dispose of Nuclear Waste in the Sun?
"After FYI answered why dumping the world's nuclear waste into a volcano would be a bad idea in March, our inbox was flooded with readers wondering, "Well, how about shooting it into the sun?"

DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE IN SPACE
"This paper discusses the key technological and non-technological issues involved in disposing of high-level nuclear waste by launching it into space. Space disposal has two major benefits."

Use Sun to dispose of radioactive waste?
"Just from the stand-point of the Sun itself and it's environment, is it possible or not to utilize the Sun to safely dispose of spent radioactive waste fuel from reactors and what would be the possible ramafications (positive or negative) for the Earth and it's environment as a result, if any?"

Storage and Disposal Options
"Most low-level radioactive waste (LLW) is typically sent to land-based disposal immediately following its packaging for long-term management. This means that for the majority (~90% by volume) of all of the waste types, a satisfactory disposal means has been developed and is being implemented around the world."

Watch More:
Turn Nuke Waste Into Glass
TestTube Wild Card
Nuclear Power Saves Lives
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[gregslo]

I'm a nuclear engineer specialized in nuclear waste so I'll put my two cents in. The type high level waste with the most scrutiny and politics is spent nuclear fuel from light water reactors (what is used in the US, France, etc.). These are the fuel rods mentioned in the video. Spent fuel is really nasty stuff, if you were to run at a spent fuel assembly at full speed you would receive a lethal dose of radiation before you got to it (although you might live another few days). So unless a rocket has a success rate of 100% we would never seriously consider putting spent fuel onboard. The risk is far too high. Besides, if the spent fuel is under about 8 feet of water you'll be completely shielded from the radiation.

The other reason we don't want to send spent fuel to the sun is because we don't actually consider it waste. Spent fuel contains still contains an amazing amount of energy, it's just that fission products in the fuel greatly reduces its effectiveness. In France (probably the gold standard of nuclear power), they reprocess their spent fuel and are able to produce Mixed Oxide (Uranium/Plutonium) fuel assemblies that can be used for another 3 fuel cycles (about 4.5 years). This reduces the need for Uranium mining, producing yellow cake, enriching, and other activities on the front end of the fuel cycle. The argument could easily be made that the front end of the fuel cycle is more harmful to the environment than the back end.

[jucarda]

I felt like he said:

"We can't because it's too hard and therefore there is no point in even trying."

[bigdickpornsuperstar]

AT $10, 000 a pound, shooting tons and tons and tons of waste into space is ludicrously stupid.

Just mix it with glass and drop the barrels into tectonic plate subduction zones and send the radioactive waste back to the molten mantel of the earth.

[deaftodd]

We would be very fucked if that rocket blows up. That's a real reason why we don't dared it.

[manaraslespaul]

why do we have to shoot it into the sun?why dont we just shoot it randomly into space?

[mymunakhanum]

Why send it to the sun, we can send it to Venus
I mean we have no actual plan to go there or anything

[FunnyLoserBingo]

Bro just eat all the excess nuclear waste you shouldn't waste it.
PS:You might get superpowers 😅

[paulharwood]

If the sun is a star, why isn't it shaped like one?

[Handsomeanthony]

Saying "we can't aim at the sun because the Earth is spinning too fast" is like saying "we can't send spacecraft to pluto because Earth is spinning too fast". Except, we did. And the sun is a much larger target.

[justicevow]

The issue isn't having nuclear material, the issue is that there are very rich people who make a lot of money charging you to use their power, from gas, too electricity. They won't allow any major competition or the replacement of these dependent sources for power because of the money it generates, they have a monopoly on it.

Are there ways to use nuclear material for our benefit? absolutely, will they want you to know about it? No, because knowledge is power and that is more then a fancy fun term, its functional & factual.
They treat people in large groups like cattle the way they think about it, as long as you're doing your routine, working ... for them, not questioning things to much, keeping you in the bubble, they don't care really, when someone strays and looks outside the box, they have the general population conditioned to abuse & jump on them (the news is great at pushing this mind set) and it goes on and on like this.

THAT is what is holding a lot of mankind back, its not that there isn't any solutions, there are, but they are being kept away from you and you're constantly being manipulated.

[mxcherryblue]

What about sending nuclear waste to the moon, I mean, when was the last time we went there?

[sheltonburnadeski]

So, it sounds like the answer is "not yet" instead of "no".

[TenebrisAstrum]

Why dont we just get all the nuclear waste, *AND PUSH IT* somewhere else?

[eklavya_motivational]

"but how much do u trust a guy who wears underwear outside of his pants''
lol

[robertemery]

So let me get this straight. We can land vehicles on Mars and get a satellite to Pluto, but we can't shoot something at the Sun which is hundreds of times bigger?

[jocanine]

I think I can answer this in 8 seconds

It's expensive
It's impractical
Space travel isn't even very safe

Count 2 more seconds

Good job

[speespa]

before I watch the video, I'm guessing its the outrageous amount of money it would cost to send our garbage into the sun.

[ryansmart]

I’ve literally always thought this to myself. “Why don’t they just send it to the sun” thank you for making this video 👌💯💯

[katzen]

Why's it have to be the sun? Just chuck it in any direction!

[jatmikothecasanova]

I'm from saturns, I was born in there. So I know a little bit about Sun.

First.. The sun is not a glare, which makes the glare is a layer of the sky (atmosphere) in the earth;
1.Troposphere,
2.Stratosphere,
3. Ozoneosphere,
4.Mesosphere,
5.Termosfer,
6.Ionosfer,
7.Exosphere,
The occurrence by refraction of light, like the light that bounces from the mirror.

If you don't believe that you can go to space and see the sun directly, you will not feel the glare.

Second.. the sun is hot on the outside, but cold on the shaft or center of the sun.
That's why the sun has a lot of Hydrogen and Radiation Elecktromagnetics Waves on the sun orbit that is surrounded by electromagnetic waves (ring of planet).
The sun is also like saturn (my place), only the difference is rings on saturn is visible so you can see my ring because created by giant rocks, whereas the sun created by elecktromagnetic waves therefore you cannot see ring of sun.

Third.. If America / Russia trying to nukes the Sun, not yet coming in to Sun your Nuclear is not working (malfunction) because the ring of elecktromagnetic waves by Sun.
And the sun will not be easily crushed because it is made by solid material.
The hard rock sun is 1 million times the hardest thing on earth.
Nuclear Weapons are created from Hydrogen material which is integrated by Uranium material, and neutralized by sea water. That's why the Nuclear lodge is not far from the sea water.

Hydrogen meets with Hydrogen what will hapening ??
It is will make the sun getting stronger and hot because it absorbs hydrogen energy from the Nuclear.

The impact is earth will getting hot within 10 years, the north pole and the south pole will melt entirely. i'm not joking.
You can try..

In May 2011 the NASA team recorded a comet / meteor ever through a solar orbit and hit the sun but nothing happened just a small eruption on the surface of the sun.
And in August of the same year.
Meteor with a speed of 1.3 million Miles per hour has also hit the sun.

If the sun is not of solid material, maybe a fraction of the Stone from sun is already crush and flying into space, but this is not happening.

The news was not published, but it was true.

So.. please dont try it..