safe ways to store nuclear waste for up to thousands of years
2007-03-29 23:41:22 · 10 answers · asked by Matt C 1 in Environment
The disposal issue is political, not technological.
Technologically, it's not that hard to encase your radioactive wastes in glass bricks and then store them in a geologically stable underground site. All indications are that such storage is safe, and would remain safe for as long as the material is appreciably radioactive. A site has already been selected (Yucca Mountain, Nevada). However, the people in Nevada don't want to live next to a permanent nuclear waste storage facility, and Nevada politicians have thus far managed to prevent us from going forward with using that site.
Instead, we're currently storing our nuclear wastes in temporary facilities that are much riskier.
Firing nuclear waste into space is theoretically possible, but the sheer quantity of nuclear wastes we need to get rid of - combined with the potential for disaster if a launch fails - makes that approach unfeasible.
2007-03-30 00:00:26 · answer #1 · answered by Bramblyspam 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Actually, depends on the waste. Some forms are much more dangerous than others. Encase the waste in ceramics or just concrete, then bury in a geologically stable region where there is no population and no water table. The possibilities are too extensive to write about in this forum.
Good solutions will be found when we listen more to the engineers and less to the hysterical environmentalists.
2007-03-30 06:54:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The technique, based on the familiar chemical principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), tracks the damage radioactive particles cause as they smash into atoms of surrounding material. Already, the method has shown that the ceramic mineral zircon (ZrSiO4), a candidate for storing nuclear waste for over 250 000 years, would lose its ordered structure in a far shorter time.
2007-03-30 07:01:49 · answer #3 · answered by inexplicable 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Personally Matt I don't believe there is trully a completely safe way to store this stuff. Think about it, it would be like putting acid in a plastic bottle it will eventually eat through it. Our government keeps it stored in cool places under total care for 0 misshaps. Basically underground no static electricity etc. Scary huh!
2007-03-30 06:51:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They have a storage near Hobbs New Mexico that is very deep in salt beds and have been stable for several thousands of years . Let the professionals do there job.
2007-03-30 12:05:11 · answer #5 · answered by JOHNNIE B 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can't. The only way is to ship it to space which means if the spaceship crashs back to earth then the fallout may be worst still, so mybe it would be better to keep it here.
2007-03-30 06:51:49 · answer #6 · answered by Steve R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ground them inside da sea bed or bury it deep into the ground in old mines
2007-03-30 06:59:08 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Under the desks at the Greenpeace offices.
2007-03-30 06:49:33 · answer #8 · answered by Sheriff of Yahoo! 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is always one solution to solve very hard question,may be liquid Hellium store it.
2007-03-30 08:18:00 · answer #9 · answered by Tuncay U 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In space... seriously. Ship it to the moon man...
2007-03-30 06:44:18 · answer #10 · answered by Joe G 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋