this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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Can somebody please explain why the world hasn't gone nuclear yet? (slrpnk.net)
submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I mean im guessing its because it may not be as profitable, or atleast at first, boycotts or directly just capitalism fucking everything up? i legit always imagine aliens seeing us still use coal while having DISCOVERED IN 1932

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago

Coal on the other hand is relatively cheap, the technology is fairly simple, running them is fairly cheap, there's no waste to get rid of etc

Well, the waste gets thrown into the atmosphere. And that coal ash contains radioactive waste. Radioactive particulates up to 10x more concentrated than the raw coal fuel are injected directly into the atmosphere and spread by the winds. You know, the actual dangerous part of those nuclear accidents everyone is always thinking about.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste/

If a nuclear plant leaked even a fraction of that amount of radiation it would be shut down immediately. But all of that gets to be ignored, because it's not a nuclear power plant.