The issue with storage is that it occurs on a time line that is best described as near-geologic. Periods of time that are orders of magnitude longer than human civilizations survive.
coal plant are not only more voluminous (though less dense) than the coal that goes in but also contain a substance that is more poisonous than plutonium (arsenic trioxide).
Consider the difference in volume of these two waste products...
Really? The amount of fuel that goes into a nuclear plant is farirly low, compared to the amount shoved into a coal plant. When they shut down the nuclear plants to change the fuel, the fuel that dcomes out is 95% (or maybe 99%, I forget the figures I heard at Fermi II in Michigan) usable. The problem is that the governemtn refuses to let anyone process the fuel to eliminiate the waste and reuse the fuel. The 1-5% waste slows the reaction down enough that the fuel is not nearly usable. Considering pure volume: Coal exhaust is continuos and significant. Nuclear waste is a burst every 18 mohts, equal to a barrel or two, worst case. (to the best of my knowledge.)( Ryan Anderson PGP fp: 7E 8E C6 54 96 AC D9 57 E4 F8 AE 9C 10 7E 78 C9