Uranium and thorium, present in coal in trace amounts, are greatly concentrated after you burn away the carbon. The ash left behind is enriched for these elements. An Oak Ridge National Laboratory article, which I think was written informally, cited an estimate that the recoverable energy from the fissionable materials may exceed the energy produced from burning the coal itself.
Unique-Coffee5087 | a day ago
Not to mention the radioactivity.
Uranium and thorium, present in coal in trace amounts, are greatly concentrated after you burn away the carbon. The ash left behind is enriched for these elements. An Oak Ridge National Laboratory article, which I think was written informally, cited an estimate that the recoverable energy from the fissionable materials may exceed the energy produced from burning the coal itself.
As they say in New England: Coal warms you twice!
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste/
[OP] ILikeNeurons | a day ago
This also means that the co-benefits of taxing carbon (which are already substantial) just got larger.
https://citizensclimatelobby.org/who-supports-a-price-on-carbon/
https://www.environmentalvoter.org/get-involved