Jesse Wang Nuclear Age Debate Q1: Cognizant of the proposed idea of deep geological nuclear waste disposal,

per the Environmental Protection Agency of Colorado, the state of Colorado is still hesitant about the effectiveness of this method since it has not been widely used before. Some radioactive species have half-lives that are well over one million years; therefore even low-level waste must be handled with care. Therefore, there is not a decisive way to discern whether or not deep geological waste disposal will have any negative impact on the environment in the future, especially when taking into account natural disasters such as earthquakes that do penetrate deep below the Earths surface. Does your team have any evidence to qualify the effectiveness and the safety of deep geological waste disposal, or any other more efficient model for managing the wasteperhaps a combination of two methods?

Q2: Since this will be the first nuclear power plant since the closure of Fort St. Vrain in 1989, the state of Colorado is concerned about the operation of the plant and its day to day maintenance. Therefore, we are curious about the options of different types of nuclear power plants that can be built. Taking into account the wide spectrum of nuclear reactor typesincluding but not limited to: boiling water reactors, pressurized water reactors, and high temperature gas-cooled reactorsexplain which type is most effective and how do its benefits outweigh its drawbacks?

Q3: The state of Colorado understands that building a nuclear power plant will be incredibly expensive, but overall economically advantageous. However, we are curious as to exactly how cost-effective generating power based on uranium is in comparison to pre-existing energy production sources such as coal. Taking into account capital costs, plant operating costs, as well as external costs, in comparison to those of fossil fuel/ coal power stations, elaborate on the overall effectiveness of these two energy sources after the plant itself has been constructed. Focus mainly on the cost of running operations for each, and explain how each compares from an economic standpoint.