• Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My understanding is that they eventually become unserviceable as they age, because of mechanical/structular reasons, or because the costs of servicing them is so prohibitive that they are unserviceable economically.

    That they definitely have a begin, middle, and end, life cycle.

    • havokdj@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That is what taxes are for. God forbid government officials have to cut into their overinflated bonuses to keep a major source of energy in service.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Even if you ignore capitalism, at some point they fatigue and break to the point where they cannot be repaired, but need to be replaced.

        • havokdj@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          You don’t have to demo a whole building to replace a machine. When they need to be replaced, replace it.

          Money is literally the only excuse here. Greed is what prevents us from advancing, it’s the reason we never switched from coal and why we are likely not going to last another 100 years. The old rich fuckers don’t care, they aren’t going to live that long anyways, and their children are going to be rich enough that even their descendants 10 generations from now will live comfortably in the hell we are turning the planet into.

          • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            No, it’s not just about greed. The reactor itself, it’s housing, and equipment around it have a definite lifetime to them, no matter how much you’d wish otherwise.

            Better to decommission before it becomes unsafe, and build a next gen better new one.

    • uis@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Disproven by Russia. Maybe sometimes core is replaced because it uses unsafe design by current standards like in St. Petesburg.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Russia isn’t really known for their safety rules. A lot of those reactors are running way past their expiration and are deteriorating past the point where they should be running.

        It’s a finite fact. A reactor has a lifetime to it, then it needs to be replaced. Unlike other mechanical devices/engines it can’t be serviced because of the radiation involved.

        • uis@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Russia isn’t really known for their safety rules.

          Agreed except nuclear. After Chernobyl there were no Nuclear Power Plant accidents in any post-Soviet country. Iven the scale of corruption in country I’m surprised.

          A lot of those reactors are running way past their expiration and are deteriorating past the point where they should be running.

          It depends how you define expiration. ISS expired like 4 times if not more. For example St. Petesburg NPP still has 2 РБМК-1000(same as in Chernobyl, but modernized) built in 1980(and 1981). Both are planned to be decommisioned in 2025.

          Unlike other mechanical devices/engines it can’t be serviced because of the radiation involved.

          If reactors were unservicable, then there would be no need in NPP personel.

          • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Both are planned to be decommisioned in 2025.

            My point exactly. They have planned decommissioned dates because they cannot be serviced and maintained safely forever.

            Unlike other mechanical devices/engines it can’t be serviced because of the radiation involved.

            If reactors were unservicable, then there would be no need in NPP personel.

            I disagree. During the lifetime operation of a plant they need personnel, it’s not an All or Nothing thing. They don’t just turn off the lights and shut the door and all walk out.

            Hell, even after a plant starts it’s decommission plan, which can take 10 to 20 years, they still need personnel.