this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2023
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I wouldn't say that's true for gas. Without the right maintenance and/or shutdown procedures, refinery systems can reach dangerous pressures and literally explode.
Even shutting down a refinery is a very calculated process. If the refinery teams decided to walk away doing nothing, people would be in danger. The sheer amount of toxins released could kill quite a few, let alone explosions or fire.
I'm not a big fan of gas power, but it's surely deadly in the wrong hands.
My ~~first~~ second... paragraph was a bit of a simplification.
While that is true, a refinery explosion is far less impactful than a nuclear meltdown.
Don't get me wrong, both are really bad; but a refinery gone wrong doesn't leave huge amounts of land entirely unusable for decades.
Honestly I'd rather avoid both and go for energy sources like wind, solar, hydro, even geothermal. I think we could go a long way if the majority of homes had panels on the roof and some local storage for night time use.
I've said elsewhere; I like the concept of Nuclear energy, I just struggle to trust those that run it, particularly given how neglected much of our existing infrastructure is already.