Safely Disposing of Radioactive Waste -- Fact or Myth?

By Theodora Filis

On February 2013, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Washington – One of America's First Nuclear Plants, and one of the two Manhattan Project nuclear plants that provided fissile material for the bombs dropped on Japan, reported a major leak of highly toxic sludge from a single-wall storage tank.

Categorized as the “perfect radioactive storm” Washington Governor, Jay Insles said, “I am alarmed about this on many levels. This raises concerns, not only about the existing leak... but also concerning the integrity of the other single-shell tanks of this age” -- adding, “I fear the past is coming back to haunt us.”

According to a 2010 survey of energy accidents, there have been at least 56 accidents at nuclear reactors in the United States – defined as incidents that either resulted in the loss of human life or more than $50,000 of property damage. Nuclear power plants operate in most states in the US and produce about 20 percent of the nation’s power. Nearly 3 million Americans live within 10 miles of an operating nuclear power plant.

The USA is the world's largest producer of nuclear power – 100 nuclear power reactors in 31 states – operated by 30 different power companies accounting for more than 30% of worldwide nuclear generation of electricity.

Since World War II, Hanford Nuclear Reservation facilities have leached roughly one million gallons of radioactive waste into the surrounding soil and groundwater beside the Columbia River, with specialists estimating that the newly discovered leak maybe adding an additional 150-300 gallons a year, though no one knows when it began.

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation currently houses 149 single-wall nuclear waste storage tanks, along with 28 newer tanks with double walls. They contain residue from decades of refining plutonium for nuclear weapons, roughly 56 million gallons of highly radioactive waste in aged and corroded underground storage tanks.

Most US nuclear power comes from reactors built between 1967 and 1990.

Most frightening of all – 104 nuclear power reactors now in operation in the US have a safety problem that cannot be fixed and should be replaced with newer technology – shutting them all down at once is not practical – some suggest phasing them out rather than trying to extend their lives, would be most practical.

So... can the US safely dispose of decades of nuclear waste?

The basic method of Nuclear Waste Disposal is to bury it in the ground and hope it doesn't leak out. More specifically, to identify stable Geological Foundations which can host the material for 10,000 years.

The potential danger from an accident – Like Three Mile Island and Fukushima Daiichi, or nuclear waste leaking out of the ground, Like Hanford Nuclear Reservation – is exposure to radiation, radioactive materials, and ingestion of radioactive materials.

Radioactive materials are composed of atoms that are unstable. An unstable atom gives off its excess energy until it becomes stable. The energy emitted is radiation. Each of us is exposed to radiation daily from natural sources, including the Sun and the Earth. Small traces of radiation are present in food and water. Radiation also is released from man-made sources such as X-ray machines, television sets, and microwave ovens. Radiation has a cumulative effect. The longer a person is exposed to radiation, the greater the effect.

The main objective in managing and disposing of radioactive waste is to protect people and the environment. This means isolating or diluting the waste so that the rate or concentration of any radionuclides returned to the biosphere is harmless. – World Nuclear Association

George Monbiot, February 12, 2012, Nuclear waste – can it be disposed of safely?

“There is well-documented geological evidence of what has come to be known as the Oklo nuclear reactor. Located in the West African state of Gabon, there exists a deposit of uranium ore which was once so highly concentrated that spontaneous fission reactions started to occur inside it. Over periods of what may have been thousands of years, the uranium deposit began to act just like a modern-day reactor – maintaining a self-sustaining fission reaction, which released energy and what were essentially nuclear wastes.

The Oklo reactor is estimated to have been active over a billion years ago. What is remarkable is that the nuclear waste products from this nuclear reaction moved only a few centimeters from where they were first created – this is even with water flowing in and around the ‘core’ of the reactor. The main reason for the successful containment of this waste was the existence of multiple barriers around the reactor, slowing the permeation of the radioactive elements away from the core.

With knowledge of geological formations such as Oklo and many other natural analogs, combined with advanced, corrosion-resistant materials developed in recent decades, there is really no reason why safe nuclear waste repositories cannot be built in all countries that have nuclear waste.”

Read the entire article here: http://fissionenvironmentalists.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/nuclear-waste-can-it-be-disposed-of-safely/

According to a report from the US National Academy of Sciences, it will take 3 million years for radioactive waste stored in the United States, as of 1983, to decay to background levels. So, right now, our only solution – and not a very good one – is to store the waste in a place so that the environment won't be contaminated.

The problem with storing nuclear waste is both political as well as technological. In terms of politics, no one wants it stored near them. So there's much dispute as to where radioactive waste should be stored. In addition, storing so much waste is a major technological challenge.

According to a report issued by the British Parliament, "In considering arrangements for dealing safely with such wastes, man is faced with time scales that transcend his experience."