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NuclearWasteDisposalMethods

NuclearWasteDisposalMethods
SubhanAli
March9,2011
SubmittedascourseworkforPhysics241,StanfordUniversity,Winter2011
heUnitedStatescurrentlyhas104operationalnuclearpowerplants.[1]Aspartofthenuclearfuel
T
cycle process, radioactive waste is produced that needs to be safely dealt with in order to avoid
permanentdamagetothesurroundingenvironment.Nuclearwastecanbetemporarilytreatedonsite
attheproductionfacilityusing a number of methods, such as vitrification, ion exchange or synroc.
30
Althoughthisinitialtreatmentpreparesthewastefortransportandinhibitsdamageintheshortterm,
longtermmanagementsolutionsfornuclearwastelieatthecruxoffindingaviablesolutiontowards
D
more widespread adoption of nuclear power. Specific longterm
management methods include
E
geological disposal, transmutation, waste reuse, and spaceAdisposal. It is also worth noting that the
halflifeofcertainradioactivewastescanbeintherangeof500,000yearsormore.[2]
L

GeologicalDisposal

Tempered
Theprocessofgeologicaldisposalcentersonburrowing nuclear
waste into the ground to the point
Glass Screen
whereitisoutofhumanreach.Thereareanumberofissuesthatcanariseasaresultofplacingwaste
Scratch
50.00
in the ground. The waste needs to be properly protected to stop
Amazonany material from leaking out.
Seepagefromthewastecouldcontaminatethewatertableiftheburiallocationisaboveorbelowthe
by lights cine
water level. Furthermore, the waste needs to be properly fastened to the burial site and also
structurally supported in the event of a major seismic event, which could result in immediate
contamination.Also,giventhehalflifenotedabove,ahugeconcerncentersaroundhowfeasible it
wouldbetoevenassumethatnuclearwastecouldsimplylieinrepositorythatfarbelowtheground.
Concernsregardingterrorismalsoarise.[3]

Anotedgeologicaldisposalprojectthatwasrecentlypursuedandcouldpossiblestillbepursuedin
the future by the United States government is the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The
federal government has voted to develop the site for future nuclear storage. Although the Obama
administrationhasbeenadamantinstatingthatYuccaMountainis"offthetable,"Congressvotedby
amarginof10to1in2009tokeepfundingtheprojectaspartofthefederalbudget.A number of
concernssurroundthisprojectandtheultimatelongtermviabilityofitareyettobeseengiventhe
politicaluncertaintysurroundingit.[4]

Reprocessing
Reprocessing has also emerged as a viable long term method for dealing with waste. As the name
implies,theprocessinvolvestakingwasteandseparatingtheusefulcomponentsfromthosethatarent
asuseful.Specifically,itinvolvestakingthefissionablematerialoutfromtheirradiatednuclearfuel.
Concerns regarding reprocessing have largely focused around nuclear proliferation and how much
easierreprocessingwouldallowfissionablematerialtospread.[5]

Transmutation
Transmutation also poses a solution for long term disposal. It specifically involves converting a
chemicalelementintoanotherlessharmfulone.CommonconversionsincludegoingfromChlorineto
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SpaceDisposal

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ArgonorfromPotassiumtoArgon.Thedrivingforcebehindtransmutationischemicalreactionsthat
are caused from an outside stimulus, such as a proton hitting the reaction materials. Natural
transmutation can also occur over a long period of time. Natural transmutation also serves as the
principleforcebehindgeologicalstorageontheassumptionthatgivingthewasteenoughisolatedtime
willallowittobecomeanonfissionablematerialthatposeslittleornorisk.[6]

Space disposal has emerged as an option, but not as a very viable one. Specifically, space disposal
centers around putting nuclear waste on a space shuttle and launching the shuttle into space. This
becomesaproblemfrombothapracticalityandeconomicstandpointastheamountofnuclearwaste
thatcouldbeshippedonasingleshuttlewouldbeextremelysmallcomparedtothetotalamountof
wastethatwouldneedtobedealtwith.Furthermore,thepossibilityoftheshuttleexplodingenroute
tospacecouldonlymakethematterworseassuchanexplosionwouldonlycausethenuclearwasteto
spreadoutfarbeyondanyreasonablemeasureofcontrol.Theupsidewouldcenteraroundthefactthat
launching the material into space would subvert any of the other issues associated with the other
disposalmethodsasthedecayofthematerialwouldoccuroutsideofouratmosphereregardlessofthe
halflife.[7]

Conclusion
Variousmethodsexistforthedisposalofnuclearwaste.Acombinationoffactorsmustbetakeninto
account when assessing any one particular method. First, the volume of nuclear waste is large and
needs to be accounted for. Second, the halflife of nuclear waste results in the necessity for any
policymakertoviewthetimehorizonaseffectivelybeinginfiniteasitisbesttofindasolutionthat
willrequiretheleastinterventiononcealongtermplanhasbeenadapted.Last,thesustainabilityof
anyplanneedstobeunderstood.Reducingthefissionabilityofthematerialanddealingwithadverse
effectsitcanhaveontheenvironmentandlivingbeingsneedstobefullyincorporated.Ultimately,
nuclearwasteisarealitywithnuclearpowerandneedstobeproperlyaddressedinordertoaccurately
assessthelongtermviabilityofthispowersource.
Subhan Ali. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered
form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including
commercialrights,arereservedtotheauthor.

References
[1]"AnnualEnergyReview2009,"U.S.EnergyInformationAgency.
[2]R.C.Ewing,"NuclearWasteFormsforActinides,"Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.96,3432(1999).
[3]R.L.MurrayandK.L.Manke,UnderstandingRadioactiveWaste(BattellePress,2003).
[4] A. Macfarlane, "Underlying Yucca Mountain: The Interplay of Geology and Policy in Nuclear
WasteDisposal,"SocialStudiesofScience33,783(2003).
[5]A.Andrews,"NuclearFuelReprocessing:U.S.PolicyDevelopment,"CRSReportforCongress
RS22542,27Mar08.
[6]S.Charalambus,"NuclearTransmutationbyNegativeStoppedMuonsandtheActivityInducedby
theCosmicRayMuons,"Nucl.Phys.A166145(1971).
[7] J. Coopersmith, "Nuclear Waste Disposal in Space: BEP's Best Hope?" AIP Conference
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Proceedings830,600(2005).

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