""Mr. Plow"" <adam_is_mr_plow@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> The radiactive waste from a nuke plant has a half-life of like 10,000
years,
> that means we have to store it for a damn long time before it's no longer
> dangerous to humans/plants/animals/water supply etc. etc. etc.
> They do have various theories as to where/how to dump this stuff in a
> "secure" locale, but that all hinges on not having an earthquake in that
> particular area. I currently don't know where they store nuclear waste,
> other than the retaining ponds within the plant.
>
> The Adam Blaster
> Two words, figure it out.....
At this point in time, you are correct Adam. However, there was a
technology developed by the US government called IFR (Intergal Fast Reactor)
that created short lived waste, with a hazardous lifespan of only about 200
years. (the project has since been killed and decommissioned though,
because people were afraid of it)
Today's reactors are using fuel rods composed of a ceramic material that
cannot be recycled, so when there isn't enough plutonium left in them to be
fissionable at the rate desired they are removed and then stored. With the
IFR, the fuel rods are made of metal, so that when the plutonium levels
become too low, they are removed and melted down. A cadmium cathode is used
to draw all of the still fissionable material out of the "junk" and it is
then combined with new, fresh uranium so that it can be fissioned again,
until all of it has been used up. This "junk" that is the byproduct of the
reaction is fairly radioactive, but since it is not able to fission anymore,
it's radioactivity is relatively short lived, only about 200 years, and then
you could pick it up and hold it in your hands - without protective gear.
If this type of technology were to be further developed, we might be able to
use it on a national (maybe even international) level and reduce the amount
of long lived nuclear byproducts. As I said before people are afraid of
nuclear energy and because of the fear, this will probably not happen in the
near future.
-- - Josh Lowered 2000 Dakota CC 3.9L www.geocities.com/lenny187/dakota.html www.omg-stfu.com
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